Game fans flock to Shanghai to join the ChinaJoy 'party'
Cosplayers and fans gather at ChinaJoy, a summer festival and party for gamers.
A ChinaJoy visitor plays a game to get free gifts.
Fans and tourists flocked to Shanghai on Friday to enjoy ChinaJoy, a summer gaming carnival and festival held annually, and the first professional top-level gaming fair to be held offline in China after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The festival is taking place from July 28 to 31 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in the Pudong New Area.
Despite heavy winds on Friday morning, fans queued to enter the venue of ChinaJoy, or the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference.
They were elaborately dressed up, known as cosplay, danced and socialized, collecting free gifts at various booths, playing demo games yet to be published, and taking photos with friends and showgirls, all glad to join the ChinaJoy "party."
Nanxia, a game fan from Chongqing City spent 20 hours on a train journey to Shanghai for his first visit to ChinaJoy.
Some were first-time visitors, such as Nanxia, a grade-12 student from the southwest city of Chongqing. He took a more than 20-hour train ride to Shanghai after sitting the college entrance exam, or gaokao, this summer. He and two friends visited the booths of "League of Legends," "Genshin Impact" and "Honkai Impact 3."
"It (ChinaJoy) brings a charming atmosphere here, with cosplayers, games and animation products," he told Shanghai Daily at the miHoYo booth, where he spent almost 30 minutes waiting to play the game "Honkai Impact 3."
A fan takes selfies with showgirls at ChinaJoy.
People gathering in front of the booth for "SLAM Dunk," a popular basketball-themed animation product.
Shanghai-based developer miHoYo offered game mascots, a giant train model and cosplay performances to woo fans.
ChinaJoy, as Asia's biggest game fair, covers a total of 120,000 square meters with over 500 exhibitors, including 100 from overseas. Almost all game leaders, including Tencent, NetEase, Perfect World, miHoYo, AMD, Sony Playstation, DENA and Qualcomm, attended the show.
Many visitors seemed more experienced than Nanxia. They wore cosplay outfits, took trolley bags to easily collect gifts, and brought accessories and lights to provide better effects for their photography and selfies.
They also browsed and bought from the booths of comic books and animation models, like Japan-based publisher Kadokawa Shoten. Some books and products are limited editions and only sold at the event.
There were dance performances on a stage in the N5 hall of the venue. The performers were in Chinese-style or Han apparel, with Chinese culture-themed backgrounds and music. The event was organized to promote Chinese history and culture to fans.
A dancer brings a Chinese-style performance to a stage at ChinaJoy, to promote Chinese history and culture.
Cosplayers pose at a booth at ChinaJoy.
