Beijing, Dec 3 (IANS): A caterpillar fungus and a Tibetan mastiff dog are the protagonists of a Tibetan cartoon series that will soon be screened in Tibetan and Mandarin languages in Chinese television networks.
The Tibetan culture-based series will be screened starting next month in northwest Qinghai province, Xinhua reported.
The five-series cartoon -- named "Seeking smart elves" -- will be shown around Spring Festival in late January.
DVDs of the cartoon series will also be made available on the Chinese market, said Zhang Jingyuan, director with Qinghai's ethnic language cartoon development centre, and also the executive producer of the cartoon series.
The centre was also in talks with media companies regarding the cartoon being shown online, he said.
The story is about a journey of "Chongchong" and "Jiajia", who set out to find the "smart spirit" so that they can better help others.
Chongchong is a caterpillar fungus, and Jiajia a Tibetan mastiff.
They come across five elves -- the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, the Lancang River, Qinghai Lake and Kunlun Mountains -- along their journey, and eventually find they themselves have become "smart elves" through their experiences.
Costing more than one million yuan (around $157,000), the centre spent about eight months to complete the work, said Zhang.
Merchandise from the cartoon show, like toys and clothes, would soon go on sale.
"Successful cartoons help promote the cultural image of a region, and we will further explore our unique cultural resources to build the cartoon brand of Qinghai," said Zhang.
He also said the centre would adapt the "Epic of King Gesar" into a cartoon show. It is reportedly the world's longest orally narrated epic poem that relates the heroic deeds of the legendary king Gesar.
The epic, believed to date from the 12th century, relates the heroic deeds of Gesar, the fearless lord of the legendary kingdom of Ling. It is recorded variously in poetry and prose, and is sung widely throughout Central Asia. Its classic version is to be found in Tibet.