That\'s Entertainment!

The curtain went up last night on the grand opening gala of the 17th Shanghai Television Festival which featured an award ceremony for the country\'s most popular young TV entertainment show hosts.

A total of 26 hosts from 100 contenders were recognized by industry insiders and media critics for their natural, humorous and lively hosting style.

Among them were popular CCTV pair Sa Beining and Gao Bo, Dragon TV\'s Wang Guan and Zhu Zhen, Hunan Satellite TV\'s Eddy Au and Hai Tao, and Liaoning TV\'s Xu Lulu.

"It\'s a big honor to receive this award," said Xu Lulu. "TV hosting is definitely not an easy job. This award will strengthen my confidence in the entertainment industry."

Dragon TV\'s popular Zhu Zhen is known for his quick wit, versatility and humor.

"A TV host should always be honest and sincere when facing the audience," Zhu said, pledging to devote himself to his career.

Famous director Deng Zaijun, Shanghai TV host Ye Huixian, former CCTV host Zhao Zhongxiang, veteran Happy Dictionary TV hostess Wang Xiaoya, and renowned scholar Qian Wenzhong presented awards and exchanged views on the art of hosting.

"A good TV host is required to have an all-round knowledge," said director Deng. "Also, he needs to develop a good sense of crowd control and stage presence."

All the winning TV anchors announced their awards on micro blogs and stressed their social responsibilities and missions as TV personalities.

The audience was stunned by the gala\'s entertaining spirit consisting of creative dance performances, light-hearted talk show skits and comedy sketches, all performed by domestic TV hosts.

The TV festival, one of the largest and most influential in Asia, will run until Friday.

In addition to the highly competitive Magnolia Awards, the festival also features an international film and TV market, animation project pitching, an international new media and broadcasting equipment market, the Magnolia TV forum and the Shanghai Student Television Festival.

Well-known industry professionals and media investors from around the world will present the latest TV production concepts and technology and share their views on TV\'s hot issues, such as new media, animation and the entertainment TV format.

Local TV fans also will be able to participate in the festival. More than 40 acclaimed domestic and foreign TV films, documentaries and animated series will be screened each night on the local Documentary Channel, Drama Channel, Art Channel, International Channel Shanghai, Toonmax TV and Haha TV.