he Fourth China International Cartoon and Animation Festival (CICAF) was celebrated in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou from April 28 to May 3, amidst much fanfare. This year's edition of the annual festival heralded many a pleasant surprise for the public. In fact for the first time the tickets of the opening ceremony were sold to the public.The ceremony was complete with all the razzmatazz characteristic of high profile events. Fireworks, music and live performances by both Chinese stars and international music bands greeted the audience. This apart, even the scale of the event this year was greater than in the preceding years. Institutions and enterprises from 17 countries and regions had registered for the festival. The exhibition area provided a visual treat with more than 1,400 exhibition booths having covered about 60,000 square metres. Approximately 500,000 people attended this year which was an overwhelming increase from the 430,000 attendees of last year.

The CICAF is the only state-level and international cartoon and animation industrial festival, co-sponsored by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) and the Zhejiang Provincial Government. In 2006, SARFT designated Hangzhou, the capital of the Zhejiang Province, as the host city for the event. This was done in recognition of Hangzhou's contribution to the animation industry. The city has pioneered many initiatives. It has set up a national digital entertainment industry pilot area, a national software industry base and other bases for the national cultural creation industry. ... more