A first for comics

Fang Cheng, a veteran comics artist from Beijing, has recently donated five of his signature works to the Shanghai Municipal Cultural Bureau. The 91-year-old artist suggested Shanghai should build a museum for original comics and cartoon works, in 2007.

"Shanghai is the cradle of modern Chinese comics art. I am happy to become the first comics artist to donate works to the museum, the first of its kind in China," Fang said.

The Shanghai municipal government calls on society to denote more items to the Shanghai Museum of Comics and Cartoons, which will open next May in Pudong New District, coinciding with the Shanghai 2009 World Expo, said Zhang Zhijing, a cultural official in charge of the museum project.

Influenced by Western countries, modern Chinese comics and cartoon art began in the late 19th century in Shanghai, where the first comics magazines, newspapers and comics artists societies were created, said comics historian Zheng Huagai.