Chinese "manhua" exhibited at Frankfurt Book Fair

FRANKFURT, Germany, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition of Chinese "manhua," or comics, titled "Beijing, ten faces of one city," was launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday.

Visitors read a poster of Chinese cartoons at the 61st Frankfurt Book  Fair in the central German city of Frankfurt, Oct. 14, 2009. The 61st  Frankfurt Book Fair opened to public on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ban Wei)

The exhibition, hosted by the German branch of the U.S. publishing house Tokyopop, showcases the works of ten "manhua" artists who present their impression of Beijing, the Chinese capital.

The exhibition showcases around 50 enlarged comics taken from the book "Peking, ten faces of one city," which has recently been launched on the German market and contains, among others, works of "manhua" artists Ji An, Liang Yi, Liu Wei, Song Yang, Nie Jun and Cheng Cheng.

The themes of the comics range from the transformation of the city's old quarters, the selection of participants of the Olympic Games to environmental pollution and the difficulties of growing up in modern China, thus providing insights into the situation of the Chinese capital from a very personal and private viewpoint.

Dr. Joachim Kaps, the managing director of Tokyopop, said his company is eager to introduce Chinese Manhua to German readers.

"Germany already has a lot of Japanese manga enthusiasts. We very much hope to introduce Chinese manhua to the German market," he said.