TORONTO---February. 23, 2000--Tengtu International Corp. (OTCBB: TNTU) announced that its wholly owned animation and film production studio TIC Beijing Digital Pictures Ltd. has entered into a joint venture with two leading Canadian production companies, Crawleys i Inc. and Boomstone Entertainment Inc., to co-produce high quality prime-time entertainment programs worth US$50 million.

An animated series called "Germs" will be the first fruit of the collaboration. Featuring leading-edge 3D animation production values, the initial series of 26 half-hour episodes is expected to appeal to a broad demographic and will be produced for release as family entertainment in Asia, North America and Europe. Also being planned are an animated movie based on the series, as well as an interactive multimedia software application for home and school use to help promote good health habits for children ages 3 and up.

TIC Beijing will conduct a major portion of the animation work for the "Germs" project and will share as a producer in the distribution rights and lucrative video and toy merchandising rights. The Tengtu studio has already completed some developmental work on the renderings of principal characters, including designs for manufacturing prototypes of toy merchandise. "Tengtu is as much about entertainment as it is about education," said chairman and CEO Pak Cheung. "We are gratified to have partners in this enterprise as fine as in our educational software business."

Tengtu is committed to producing a quality entertainment product and looks forward to its licensing and merchandising potential." We hope it will be as outstandingly successful as the Pokemon phenomenon," he noted. Bill Stevens, president of Crawleys i stated, "Frankly, we were impressed with the quality of TIC Beijing's leading-edge studio and work, and we are very excited to be working with them on state-of-the-art productions for the international marketplace -- especially for China, one of the largest and fastest-growing entertainment markets in the world."

"This relationship is perfect," added Lee Williams, president of Boomstone Entertainment. "TIC Beijing brings first rate 3D animation skills to the table. We are very satisfied with the development process on `Germs,'" he noted. The companies have also agreed to develop several other animated programs, a live Chinese television weekly and a docudrama for international distribution based on a well-known period in Chinese history.

The collaborative projects represent a total of some US$50 million in production. Most will qualify for funding support from Canadian film agency programmes under official Canada-China co-production treaties. Financing for the US$12 million co-production of "Germs" will be undertaken primarily in the Canadian market and from multinational corporate sponsorships.

Boomstone Entertainment Inc. is best known for its creative directing skills on many internationally acclaimed prime time animated productions such as "The Teddy Bear Adventures" for the Disney Channel and for lending its pre-production talent on countless animated series including "Ned's Newt," "Rainbow Fish," "Bob & Margaret" and "Mega Babies." Crawleys i Inc. has been involved with a number of animated productions including "The Care Bears," "Teddy Ruxpin," "Babar," "Dennis the Menace" and "Heavy Metal: The Movie." President Bill Stevens has previously co-produced award winning programs through a sister company, Crawley Films, the oldest Canadian film and television production entity with more than 500 international awards to its credit including an Oscar for the feature length documentary "The Man Who Skied Down Everest."

About Tengtu International Corp.

Tengtu International Corp. is a developer and distributor of multimedia educational and entertainment software and related services, operating through a joint venture and subsidiaries in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong and Canada. Wholly owned subsidiary TIC Beijing Digital Pictures Ltd. holds a leading position in the Chinese TV/film industry as the only domestic production company offering a comprehensive range of services at its million-dollar, state-of-the-art studios in Beijing. Services include 2D and 3D animation production, digital integration of visual effects for TV/film post-production, TV program packaging, advertisement production and music video editing/synthesis.

While TIC Beijing currently provides its graphics and animation services and programs to major Chinese television stations such as Central China Television and Beijing Television, its ultimate goal is to become the leading producer of animated and live television programs in China and a major provider of foreign programming for Chinese television. TIC Beijing has won numerous awards in China including a Golden Child Award for its "Xiao Bei Family" cartoon series and some dozen China Music TV Grand Competition Gold Awards for its music videos. Tengtu International's other units include 57% owned Tengtu United Electronics Development Co. Ltd. ("Tengtu United"); 44% owned educational software developer Iconix International, Inc. and 55% owned software marketer Edsoft Platforms (Hong Kong) Ltd. Tengtu United is Tengtu International's joint venture with Beijing Tengtu Culture & Education Development Co. Ltd. ("Tengtu China"), the Chinese state enterprise mandated to develop and implement a comprehensive information technology solution for the national K-12 school system and to serve as the country's gateway for electronic publishing. Tengtu United's strategic partners in fulfilling this mandate include Legend Computer Group, Great Wall Computer Group and Tai Ji Computer Group, China's three largest computer companies, as well as the China unit of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and the People's Education Press, the sole source of materials authorized for use in Chinese schools.