On October 2, the 17th China International Comic Festival kicked off at the Poly World Trade Center Expo in Guangzhou, and this year’s opening ceremony marked a fresh twist by transforming into a vibrant animation and gaming carnival. The event featured several accompanying highlights, including the Golden Dragon Award ceremony, the China Comic Artists Conference, the inaugural National IP Annual Conference, and themed exhibitions like “Beautiful China” and impressive IP showcases. Over a hundred animation and game IPs were showcased, drawing thousands of cosplayers and more than 100,000 anime and gaming fans, both in person and online.

During the Golden Dragon Award ceremony, organizers presented a total of 51 awards, with top honors in the comic and animation categories going to outstanding works from Guangdong. The Golden Award for narrative comics went to “Chu Wu,” while the animated feature film gold was awarded to the critically acclaimed “Falling Dust.” Additionally, the new Integrated IP Award aimed at discovering and nurturing emerging talent was claimed by “Xing Shen Zai,” also from Guangdong.

The international participation at this year’s Golden Dragon Awards was notably impressive, with over 800 entries from abroad—an all-time high featuring works from renowned creators. In a fiercely competitive arena, the esteemed “Overseas Animation Award” was claimed by top Japanese manga artist Fujimoto Shuki. Animation studios and artists from traditional comic powerhouses like Japan, South Korea, the U.S., and France expressed their desire to engage more actively in future submissions.

A standout feature of the festival was the debut exhibition of “Black Myth: Wukong,” the world’s first themed showcase dedicated to the game. This captivating photography exhibit, showcasing extraordinary characters, historical relics, and breathtaking landscapes, quickly became a focal point, attracting large crowds.

As the largest comprehensive animation and gaming expo in China, the Comic Festival continues its partnership with the AGF Game Expo, offering a plethora of diverse events within the broader “subculture” realm. Notable publishing companies, including Manju Culture, Tianwen Kadokawa, and Citic Publishing Group, alongside gaming giants like Tencent Games, Lingxi Entertainment, miHoYo, and NetEase Games, showcased their latest works. Attendees had the chance to experience unreleased games, explore newly published books, and shop for an extensive array of anime and gaming-related products.

Additionally, the organizers invited over a hundred guests and entertainers from various niches to engage with the audience throughout the event, which will run until October 5.