From China Daily:
China has its own equivalent of Walt Disney in the Wan brothers(‰∏áÊ∞èÂÖѺü), who took China’s animation to unprecedented artistic heights but, unlike Disney, never made it into a business empire.
In 1941 in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, Wan Laiming and his three brothers produced the first animated feature in China, titled “Princess Iron Fan“(ÈìÅÊâáÂÖ¨‰∏ª). In the early 1960s, Wan adapted the epic story of the Monkey King(ÁæéÁå¥Áéã) into a two-part feature with the technical brilliance to rival masterpieces from Disney, students of the genre say.
In the early 1980s many notable animated shorts and features were produced by the Shanghai Animation Film Studio(上海美术制片厂), using distinctly Chinese styles of artistry and storytelling. [Full Text]