• In 1986, with the commission of the Shanghai People's Congress, the film festival opened with entries from 16 countries. There were no awards presented. • In 1988, the film festival created the Magnolia Awards, named after the
floral emblem of Shanghai. It awarded Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Documentary and Best Director. Until 2004, it has held an awards ceremony every 2 years. • In 1990, the categories of Best Animation and Special Jury Award were included. The latter was discontinued in 2007. • In 2004, the Magnolia Awards became an annual ceremony. • In 2008, the concept of Gold and Silver Awards were introduced in several categories so more quality productions could gain recognition. This was discontinued in 2015. • In 2009, public voting for a variety of popularity awards were included. These awards have not been given out annually, and were officially discontinued in 2015. • A new category awarding variety shows was created in 2015. ==Awards Categories==