Chongqing- On the afternoon of September 30, 2020, the 12th China Western Animation Culture Festival kicked off at Fengxiang Lake Children's Park in Bishan, Chongqing. This Festival takes "global animation, national animation" as the exhibition theme, focusing on "industrial exchange, project cooperation, creative competition, and interactive experience."

According to the relevant staff, the venue of the Bishan District will hold 14 themed activities of four categories, including summit forum, creative competition, creative exhibition, and interactive experience, all of which are free of charge. The Festival links the cultural tourism and digital economic resources of Chengdu and Chongqing. It jointly promotes the construction of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle and Western (Chongqing) Science City, intending to empower the science, technology, and innovation in Bishan.

As an innovative attempt to upgrade the brand of the Western Animation Culture Festival, this event will empower Bishan cultural and tourism resources, boost the quality and efficiency of Bishan cultural tourism during the National Day holiday, and inject surging vitality and momentum into Chongqing Broadcasting Group and Bishan District People's Government to build a digital entertainment industry base and boost the digital economy industry.

"At present, the digital economy in Chongqing has entered the track of fast development," said Mou Fengjing, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Chongqing Broadcasting Group. "The traditional industrial transformation has been accelerated. Urban operation and management are becoming more and more efficient and humanized, promoting an intelligent lifestyle among people."

He also pointed out that, as an essential part of Chongqing's effort to build a "smart town" and "smart city," the 12th China Western Animation Culture Festival will uphold the concept of Smart Expo China, innovate the way of holding the exhibition, and eliminate the limitations of time, space and distance. Through the organic combination of online and offline, reality, and the virtual, the latest development achievements in the animation industry are presented in various forms, involving interactive communication, immersive experience, and scenario-based display.

Lan Qinghua, Secretary of the Bishan District Party Committee, said that the animation industry is a typical representative of the creative digital sector with "creativity" as the core and animation and cartoon as the primary form of expression. It is known as an "emerging sunrise industry" and has a broad development prospect.

"Right now, Bishan District has started the construction of a 10-square-kilometer Western (International) Digital Economy Industrial Ecological Zone," said Lan. "We are looking forward to recruiting talented people who are interested in animation and digital industry to settle in Bishan. In the future, Bishan will provide the best service, create the best environment, and build the best platform for everyone to show their talents." Lan thinks Bishan is going to be a creative, youth, and animation city in Western China.