Where West Lake Inspires New Visions: Integration of Technology and Arts Forges a New Industrial Ecosystem

The 2026 West Lake Fresh Wind AI Comic Drama Creation Contest Concludes Successfully, Delivering a West Lake Model for a Full-Chain AI Cultural Industry

China National Radio, Hangzhou, June 19 (Reporter Xiang Nan) – On June 17, the award ceremony and excellent works exhibition of the 2026 West Lake Fresh Wind AI Comic Drama Creation Contest, a key affiliated event of the 22nd China International Animation Festival, grandly wrapped up at Xitou Yuncheng Xigu Valley in Hangzhou. After six months of global collection and multiple rounds of professional review, 30 outstanding works stood out from over 1,300 submissions. Independent creator Qin Yingjie claimed the Gold Award with his ancient-style AI comic drama Crossing Yin and Yang. Two industrial service platforms were inaugurated at the event: the West Lake Service Station of Hangzhou Copyright Protection Center and the one-stop service platform for West Lake District’s “Three New Cultural Industries”. This marks that West Lake District has built a full industrial chain covering competition incubation, copyright protection and industrial implementation along the track of in-depth integration between AI and digital culture, offering a replicable West Lake practice model for the development of the national AI cultural and creative industry.

Guided by the China Animation Association, the contest was jointly hosted by the Publicity Department of West Lake District Party Committee, Yuguang Tongchen and Wuhu Animator Space. Zhejiang University’s School of Media and International Culture, China Academy of Art, Volcano Engine, Tomato Novel and other industry-university-research institutions participated in-depth, establishing a three-tier incubation system ranging from online novels and comic dramas to film and television. The contest garnered over 80 million views across online platforms, drawing more than 1,400 creators to sign up. Topics featuring shortlisted works accumulated over 9.2 million hits, covering diverse creation themes including oriental fantasy, classic adaptations, original IPs and copyright remakes, fully demonstrating the unique vitality of AI technologies empowering oriental aesthetic storytelling.

Competitions as a Bridge: Forging a Complete Path from Creative Concepts to Commercialization for Creators

The contest set two core tracks: IP Creation and Copyright Comic Drama, supported by million-yuan prize pools, full project incubation and industrial support resources worth tens of millions of yuan, forming an all-round support system for creators. The Gold Award-winning work Crossing Yin and Yang will receive full investment and incubation from Yuguang Tongchen, with a professional team providing full-cycle follow-up to expand the 5-minute short film into an IP series. Silver and Bronze Award winners enjoy priority for project incubation and access to professional AI comic drama training courses respectively. Outstanding works from the Copyright Track qualify for full adaptation fees from Tomato Novel and targeted traffic support on Douyin. All award-winning pieces will be featured at the China Animation Museum and showcased at the “Wind and Cloud Surge” Generative Animation Technology Popularization Exhibition starting in July, realizing dual value of creative output and public communication.

Gold laureate Qin Yingjie shared his creative insights, stating that AI has reshaped the production model of animation creation. It only took him one week to finish Crossing Yin and Yang, whereas traditional solo production would take at least two months. AI tools streamlined the whole workflow including script polishing, scene rendering and post-editing, drastically cutting time, capital and technical barriers. Creators are now freed from repetitive mechanical labor to focus on core storytelling and humanistic expression. Sun Haibin, creator of the crowd-favorite entry Xia Wanchun, depicted a teenage national hero from the late Ming Dynasty with the aid of AI to revitalize historical narratives. His work proves that technology is merely a medium, and stories rooted in oriental spirit remain the core that resonates with audiences. Li Ran, former director of the Beijing International Film Festival and jury representative, commented that entries of this year’s contest have moved beyond superficial technical showcases, boasting coherent narrative logic and emotional depth. This signals that domestic AI visual creation has entered a mature stage prioritizing content and expressive power.

Launched Platforms: Consolidating the Copyright and Service Foundation for the AI Cultural Industry

Two industrial service carriers were officially inaugurated at the award ceremony, filling gaps in supporting facilities for West Lake’s AI cultural and creative sector. The West Lake Service Station of Hangzhou Copyright Protection Center offers full-cycle services including copyright registration, rights protection and transactions for digital comic dramas and original AI IPs, addressing longstanding industry pain points such as copyright definition and circulation in the AIGC era. Meanwhile, the one-stop service platform for West Lake District’s “Three New Cultural Industries”, developed by West Lake Investment Group, rolled out an online-offline integrated service system. Its online “AI + Culture Service Zone” is set to launch at the end of June, enabling intelligent policy recommendation and online enterprise application processing. The offline physical service hall is scheduled to open in August, delivering comprehensive services spanning digital cultural trade, enterprise incubation and supply-demand matchmaking.

The industrial carrier network also expanded at the event, as 12 AI + culture enterprises signed agreements to settle in Xitou Yuncheng Xigu Valley. The park now houses over 20 leading cultural and creative enterprises across a 165,600-square-meter industrial space, backed by two tiers of industrial funds totaling 700 million yuan. It has built a closed-loop ecosystem covering creative incubation, digital empowerment and industrial implementation. Yuguang Tongchen, a leading enterprise leveraging park resources, has expanded its workforce from 100 to more than 400, recruiting numerous young animation professionals. This demonstrates that the AI cultural and creative track does not replace human labor, but generates brand-new creative roles and industrial demands. West Lake District has also launched a consultant-style accompanying service for the industry, establishing dedicated consultant teams for cultural overseas expansion, AI empowerment and IP development to deliver precise policy and resource matching for enterprises and creators.

A Mature Ecosystem: West Lake Emerges as a Pioneer Model for Cultural Digitalization

West Lake District has long cultivated the “AI + Culture” track, ranking fourth on the 2025 List of Top 100 Districts by Cultural Industry Competitiveness nationwide and hosting six provincial key AI culture projects with solid industrial foundations. Centered on the “Six Initiatives” action plan, the district leverages this AI comic drama contest to integrate park spaces, industrial funds, copyright platforms, university think tanks and traffic channels, forming a complete industrial development model featuring talent attraction via competitions, empowerment via platforms, industrial hosting via parks and capital support via funds.

As a core category of the “Three New Cultural Industries”, AI comic dramas serve as a vital vehicle for digital cultural trade and Chinese cultural global outreach. Through coordinated efforts among government, industry, universities, research institutions and creators, West Lake District lowers entry barriers for individual creators and fosters young digital creative talents on one hand, and clusters leading enterprises to improve the industrial chain for high-quality domestic AI-native content to reach nationwide and global markets on the other. The event also hosted industry roundtables and practical sharing sessions, where young directors, AI practitioners and university scholars held in-depth discussions on new workflows, talent cultivation and business models of AI comic dramas, promoting joint development of industrial standards and talent training systems.

A senior official from the Publicity Department of West Lake District Party Committee noted that the conclusion of the contest marks not an end, but a new starting point for large-scale development of West Lake’s AI cultural and creative industry. Moving forward, West Lake District will continue to upgrade full-chain supporting services for the “Three New Cultural Industries”, and regularly host creative contests, technology popularization exhibitions and industrial matchmaking events. By empowering content with technology and nourishing creativity with comprehensive services, the district will keep producing AI digital cultural works embodying oriental values and authentic Chinese narratives, enabling more compelling Chinese stories to spread far and wide from West Lake. It will strive to build a replicable and promotable West Lake template for national cultural digitalization and integrated development of technology and arts.