Hong Kong’s animators, video-game developers and toy designers will show off their prowess at two prominent exhibitions in the Chinese mainland, aiming to tap its fast-growing digital entertainment market.
Dozens of companies from the special administrative region’s digital entertainment world will participate in the China International Cartoon and Animation Festival in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, from May 29 to June 2, and the China International Comics Festival Animation and Game Expo in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, from Oct 2 to 5.
Two Hong Kong pavilions, spanning 481 and 450 square meters, will be erected at the two fairs to foster cross-boundary collaboration, displaying the SAR’s expertise in the digital entertainment sector, Gabriel Pang Tsz-kit, chairman of the Hong Kong Digital Entertainment Association, said on Wednesday.
He highlighted the interactive elements at the pavilions, including cosplay events featuring iconic Hong Kong comic characters, life-sized sculptures, virtual reality gaming demonstrations, live-action anime skits, and virtual idol performances — all aimed at deepening public engagement with the city’s digital entertainment innovations.
Thirty companies will take more than 20 intellectual properties and creative products to the Hangzhou festival, while the Guangzhou expo will see 30 high-potential Hong Kong enterprises seeking partnerships in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA).
Pang said the participating companies will use the exhibitions to link up with leading mainland firms.
China’s animation and comic industry has boomed over the past few years, with the total value growing from 88.2 billion yuan ($12.2 billion) in 2013 to over 300 billion yuan in 2023.
The animated blockbuster Ne Zha 2, which debuted in January, has reportedly grossed over 15.8 billion yuan at box offices worldwide, ranking as the fifth highest-grossing title of all time.
Black Myth: Wukong, an action video game developed by Shenzhen-based Game Science, has sold over 20 million copies across the world, with a total revenue exceeding 7 billion yuan.
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Last year, more than 50 Hong Kong enterprises, backed by the HKSAR government and the digital entertainment sector, set up pavilions at Hangzhou’s CICAF, while the China International Animation Copyright Fair in Dongguan, Guangdong, drew more than 10,000 visitors.
Pang said Hong Kong’s stronger participation this year underlines the city’s commitment to sustaining industry exchanges and unlocking commercial opportunities.
Planet Production House, a Hong Kong-based video production company specializing in post-production and dubbing, took part in CICAF in Hangzhou last year and will participate in the event for the second time.
Planet’s participation in the previous CICAF made its dubbing director Kirsten Lie realize that her company was well-received in the mainland market thanks to its capacity in generating biliterate and trilingual productions.
The firm established connections with potential mainland partners in industries like culture, food, and pets through last year’s event, added Lie.
This year, Lie says she is looking forward to networking with more partners interested in either coming to Hong Kong or expanding into the mainland market, fostering collaborations for promoting Chinese intellectual property internationally.
KellyJohn Studio is a company focusing on development technologies for motion-sensing video games.
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Its Chief Operating Officer Kelly Wong said Hangzhou is a concentration of excellent game companies, and he hopes that his company will find more partners in the mainland by taking part in the CICAF exhibition.
Contact the writer at stephyzhang@chinadailyhk.com
