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Two once-outdated malls in Guangzhou, Comic City and Dynasty Plaza, now have been turned into gathering spots for enthusiasts of the culture of animation, comic, game and novel, or ACGN.

According to one of the staff members of Ying Man (樱漫) bookshop, which is located in Comic City and has been in business for 16 years, the customer volume of the mall soared by 30% or so year-on-year. And the bookshop also occasionally hosts book-signing sessions, art exhibitions and lectures given by famous artists.

During weekends, youngsters in cosplay outfits flock into the mall, where comic conventions of multiple themes take place.

Besides Comic City, Dynasty Plaza is another ideal place for those who have a craze for ACGN culture. Since the introduction of Goods Bazaar at the end of last year, the mall has redeemed its reputation gradually, based on quite a few online posts. Compared to last year, the mall sees a dramatic increase in customer traffic on weekends, achieving over 20,000.

“I latched on ACGN-related products in 2013 and started to familiarize with them in 2016,” said Ms. Wang, who has set up a stall selling badges for ten weekends in the mall.

The total amount of stalls in the mall has risen to more than 170 from just over 40, and the mall will make all-around improvement on the bazaar to provide a transaction platform of used-items for ACGN devotees, according to one of its working staff members.

In line with data released by ChinaIRN, the market scale of ACGN has surpassed hundreds of billion yuan, which is contributed by nearly 500 million zealots ranging from Gen Y, Gen Z to Gen Alpha.

In recent years, multiple Chinese-animated works, including Monkey King: Hero is Back and Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child, have given play to significant leverage on the international stage. They undoubtedly prompted the zeal for ACGN culture.

Photos & source: 信息时报

Author: Liu Liu