Hu was born in March 1936 in
Changzhou,
Jiangsu, Republic of China. He joined the
Shanghai Animation Film Studio in the 1950s as a young artist. In 1983, Hu directed the animated short film
The Fight Between the Snipe and the Clam, based on the Chinese proverb "in the fight between the
snipe and the clam, the fisherman has the best of it". Hu was praised for bringing "vibrant, entirely believable life" to his animation, with "impeccable" timing that makes the movements of the animals "remarkably real". In the 1980s, Hu, together with
Ge Guiyun and
Zhou Keqin, co-directed the animated television series
Calabash Brothers. It was extremely popular when aired in 1986 to 1987. The Hulu (Calabash) Babies, the characters they created in the series, have become some of the most popular animated characters in China, exceeded only by
Sun Wukong. Hu continued to make animated films until the late 1990s and was an advocate for
wildlife conservation. His 1998 film,
Snow Fox, has been praised as "a beautifully animated and deeply felt appeal for the protection of the wildlife". Hu directed more than 10 animated films, three of which won the Excellent Film Award from the Ministry of Culture of China, including
The Naughty Snub-nosed Monkey,
The Fight Between the Snipe and the Clam, and
The Straw Man. He also participated in the production of more than 30 animated films, including
The Proud General,
The Fisher Boy,
The Ginseng Baby, and
The Golden Conch. On 13 May 2019, Hu died at
Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, at the age of 83. == Filmography ==