3000 Whys of Blue Cat () is the first large-scale Chinese animated series in mainland China with an emphasis on science. The series is produced by "Hunan Sunchime Happy Culture Company". The show remains one of the longest-running children's cartoon series in the world. It is most commonly referred to as "Lan Mao", or "Blue Cat". Background 1992: Wang Hong was inspired by "One Hundred Thousand Whys" and started creating Blue Cat in a small workshop on Xiangya Road, Changsha City, Hunan Province. 1993: Wang Hong established Oriental Cartoon Production Co., Ltd. in Changsha City. 1997: Wang Hong and Sun Wenhua, the chairman of Hunan Sanchen Company, established the joint venture of Sanchen Film Library. The cartoon "New 100,000 Whys" was produced. 1998: Sanchen Film Library began to adapt this cartoon into "Naughty Blue Cat 3000 Questions". This is when the concept of the Blue Cat was officially introduced. June 1999: Wang Hong gave "Naughty Blue Cat 3000 Questions" to Beijing TV Station to broadcast for free, in exchange for 45 seconds of advertising time per episode. "Blue Cat" garnered a lot of attention in mainland China. 2000: Hong Kong Asia Television purchased this animation and promoted it widely. August 2001: Sanchen Cartoon Group decided to take part in the industrial development of "Blue Cat" cartoon image derivative products. The industrialization of "Blue Cat" began. 2004: Wang Hong withdrew from Sanchen Cartoon Group and established Hongmeng Cartoon Group with He Mengfan. December 2004: Sanchen Cartoon Group launched the "Blue Cat" game. January 18, 2005: Sanchen Cartoon sued Wang Hong and Hongmeng Company in the Hunan Provincial Higher People’s Court on the grounds that the defendant can not engage in the same or similar business as the plaintiff. The court ruled that henceforth Hongmeng Company may not produce or issue more Howie & Landau cartoons, with the exception of the Howie & Landau Seven Chivalrous Biography series. December 2006: Sanchen Cartoon Group signed an agreement with South Korea's Dongwoo Animation to translate and broadcast the cartoon to South Korea. A contract was also signed with Thailand Wisdom Education Group to translate and introduce the "Blue Cat" series of books to the local primary and secondary schools. November 28, 2007: The mutual shareholding of Hunan Hongmeng Cartoon and Sanchen Cartoon was formally integrated, establishing the Hunan Blue Cat Animation Media Co., Ltd. 2009: Hunan Blue Cat Animation Media Co., Ltd. launched the