The 17th China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, better known as China Joy, kicked off at the Shanghai New International Expo Center today and will last till Aug 5.

Covering 130,000 square meters of exhibition area, this year's gaming extravaganza will feature more than 300 leading game and digital entertainment companies from home and abroad, including major global companies such as Intel, Qualcomm and Blizzard. Japanese game giant Nintendo will also make its debut at China Joy this year by teaming up with Chinese gaming juggernaut Tencent Holdings Ltd.

According to the organizer, at least 350,000 visitors are expected during the four-day show and companies have prepared more than 5,000 devices and smart entertainment gadgets that visitors can experience.

Following the approval of the first batch of 5G commercial licenses in early June, the application of this technology has been the development focus of Chinese game companies. Domestic smartphone makers such as Vivo and Nubia are expected to unveil their 5G phones and technologies at the show while Hangzhou-based SW Joy and Shanghai-based Focus Games will demonstrate their latest adaptions made for 5G scenarios.

The Shanghai E-sports Week, the first of its kind, will kick off on Aug 3 as part of this year's China Joy. Companies including Tencent, NetEase and Bilibili will hold up to 100 e-sports gaming activities during the week.

Video by Gao Erqiang