China is attempting to popularize cultural heritage protection and traditional culture among young people through the medium of cartoons.

The first China cultural heritage animation competition was launched by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) on Friday.

The online competition, lasting for three months, aims to attract all walks of life, especially young people, in China and the winning entry will be screened on television.

A total of 31 sites in China have been listed as World Heritage sites. The cultural heritage left over 5,000 years of history offers plentiful resources for designing cartoons, said Liu Shuguang, an official of SACH.

The cartoons, especially popular among young people, will help promote the protection of cultural heritage, which is facing a growing threat from urbanization in China, Liu said.

An official from the Ministry of Information Industry Liu Jiuru said the total output value of China's animation industry reached 18 billion yuan (2.25 billion U.S. dollars) in 2005. The annual growth rate of the sector was over 50 percent.