Students dress up and get animated

Bai managed to balance time for study and her "odd hobby" - and she won a high spot through the exams in her class. Little by little, the parents accepted cosplay and Li companied her daughter to take part in the festival.

Zhan Chunmei, chairman of the organizing committee of the animation festival, says that this year's festivity exerted a pull on a record high number of participants from many other cities, such as Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, and Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province.

Rui Qun, 21, has been participating in the festival for six consecutive years, declaring that cosplay cost a lot as the students had to pay for the costumes, makeup and training. "Each year I spend almost 3,000 yuan ($450) on the garments and props. I pay for it, I don't ask my parents for the money," says the slim girl at the Yunnan University of Finance and Economics.

Rui is more independent than most girls at her school, running her own business selling cosmetics from abroad in Kunming. The trade earned money that supports the new hobby, she says.

"When I entered my freshman year, there were only several cosers," she says, using the Chinese nickname for cosplayers. "However, last year saw a huge increase of students who really made up to perform," she says. The university now has more than 50 students who are active players.

Zhan says Yunnan has more than 5,000 cosers, compared with less than 500 just five years ago. "As the parents grow more tolerant toward new cultures, the number will increase fast in the next decade," Zhan predicts.

Li Yingqing and Guo Anfei contributed to the story.