16 June 2014
With the approval of the State Council of China, the second Saturday of June each year has been named the Cultural Heritage Day in China since 2006. Chinese puppet art is a theatrical form that tells stories with puppets. It is a unique form of Chinese traditional arts which enjoys a long history, rich varieties and stunning techniques.
Prior to the 9th National Cultural Heritage Day, the teachers and students of the puppet specialization of the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) came to the Fuxing Road (Central) No.2 Primary School in Shanghai’s Huangpu District on the afternoon of 12 June where they gave a wonder performance of puppet shows with explanations to the pupils of the school. The STA team included a number of award-winning students in the various national-level puppet show competitions.
STA is home to the National Incubation Centre for Talents in Puppet and Shadow Play Arts. The significance of this performance of puppet shows at a local school was far greater that the performance itself. It enabled the children to have a better understanding of the puppet art as an intangible cultural heritage of China which should be carried forward generation by generation.
STA student gives puppet show
Group photo of STA teachers and students with children of local school
