to find out what drives people to cosplay, i visited an event in beijing. many of the 3,000 participants were dressed as characters from novels and anime that are popular among young people. liu is a freshman at a university. she and her friend dressed as characters from a novel they love. she says cosplay allows her to escape from reality. >> translator: when we all get together, i can forget about my troubles. it's also fun to make friends through events. >> reporter: the boom in cosplay is partly due to the growth of social media here in china. people are turning to their mobile phones and sending their pictures to their friends online. people who enjoy cosplay are happy when the photos they post on social networking sites get responses fromom other users. the popularity of cosplay has led to an emergence of new businesses. >> translator: we run a photo studio exclusively for cosplayers. please visit us for a photo shoot. >> reporter: the number of cosplay photo studios is increasing in beijing. liu visits the photo studio advertised on the flyer with he