As the country's largest such event to gather animation fans, the 16th China International Cartoon & Animation Festival kicked off in Hangzhou, the capital city of East China's Zhejiang province, on Tuesday.

Previously, the festival usually started during the May Day holiday, but the event this year was postponed to October's National Day holiday due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Taking place in 12 venues and online, the six-day festival will hold more than 40 activities, and end on Oct 4.

Niu Jun, secretary-general of the festival's executive committee, said this year's festival will fully use the city's experience in containing the epidemic's spread by digital and high-tech means to ensure safety.

For instance, all participants and visitors should use their ID cards to apply for tickets, with all their information uploaded to the city's health code system.

Also, each of its 12 venues is taking strict anti-epidemic measures, such as requiring visitors to wear masks, to ensure health safety.

Niu also revealed that nearly 1,000 original animated works from 19 countries and regions have applied to contend for the Golden Monkey Awards, the festival's top honor. The most highlighted candidates include Ne Zha, China's highest-grossing animated film of all time, and the Sino-US coproduction Abominable.

For the first time in 16 years, the awards will set a marketing sector, inviting investing and production companies, including China Animation Comic and Game Group, to create more business opportunities for the winners.

In spite of the COVID-19 blow, the festival sees the major potential of the Chinese animation and cartoon market, exemplified by drawing more than 200 enterprises from home and abroad.

More than 800 franchises from various producers and over 100 companies will gather for the festival's most highlighted business sector, the International Animation & Game Business Conference, with contract negotiations estimated to reach about 1,500 rounds. Meanwhile, more than 670 business meetings will take place online, drawing participants from 42 countries and regions.

A highlight of the festival, its master class, has set an all-women program and includes invitations to three influential female animation insiders to share their views about the industry.

She Yuanyuan, director of Tencent Video Animation Center, is one of the three female presenters. A veteran in the cartoon and animation industry, she said Tencent Video, the streaming arm of the internet giant Tencent, has seen a promising rise of domestic animation fans, with 75 percent of active users on the Tencent Videos just watching Chinese works.

Perhaps the most appealing festival sector for animated fans, the China Cosplay Super Pageant has set five awards for individual winners, the first of its kind, to support participants who want to develop their interest into careers.