By Tao Zihui

What comes to mind when you think of Chinese animation？ For many Chinese born in the 1980s and 1990s， animation was an after-school staple. At that time， young Chinese children did not have too many recreational options at their disposal， so watching animation on TV was the general form of entertainment. For Zhao Yuqing， creating her own animation was a teenage dream. It took her 10 years to finally realize it.

Despite the solid storyline of The Island of Siliang， Zhao knew that any type of animation， i.e. an original work without a famous online literary work， would face risks in the current market.

The 3D-cartoon series tells about the adventures of two young people living in a fantasy world， coexisting with celestial beings， people and gods. The brand-new story is not born out of any ancient mythology， but its every frame exudes the charm of classical Chinese style.

Produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures and Year Young Culture animation studio， the first season of The Island of Siliang started airing on Tencent Video on June 14. To Zhaos surprise， audiences were touched by the Chinese cartoons unique， magical universe as well as the complexity of its characters and the exquisite style with traditional aesthetic. It garnered over 80 million views throughout the first four episodes and has lapped up 8.6 points out of 10 on Chinas popular review platform Douban.

An imaginative outpour

This is Zhaos successful exploration of traditional Chinese-style animation. Passionate about traditional culture since childhood， she has her own unique insights. “The art not only condenses the vibe of Eastern culture， but also blends the fashion of modern materials， culminating in a combination of traditional culture and modern perspective，” Zhao said. “Just like the ‘New Made in China concept popular in todays fashion and design circles， ancient China featured such a splendid civilization； each dynasty had its own aesthetic，” she told Beijing Review.

Zhao intends to reinterpret these historical bearings with her own artistic notions combined with animation. “Its time to let more people know just how cool our ancestors were！”

“My inspiration hailed from the college entrance examination [also known as gaokao] period when I was in high school，” she told Beijing Review. “The high school years were stressful. In order to release some pressure， this story somehow started to shape itself in my mind.”