China is attempting to popularize cultural heritage protection
and traditional culture among young people through the medium of
cartoons.
The first China cultural heritage animation competition was
launched by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) on
Friday.
The online competition, lasting for three months, aims to
attract all walks of life, especially young people, in China and
the winning entry will be screened on television.
A total of 31 sites in China have been listed as World Heritage
sites. The cultural heritage left over 5,000 years of history
offers plentiful resources for designing cartoons, said Liu
Shuguang, an official of SACH.
The cartoons, especially popular among young people, will help
promote the protection of cultural heritage, which is facing a
growing threat from urbanization in China, Liu said.
An official from the Ministry of Information Industry Liu Jiuru
said the total output value of China's animation industry reached
18 billion yuan (2.25 billion U.S. dollars) in 2005. The annual
growth rate of the sector was over 50 percent.
(Xinhua News Agency July 8, 2006)
