The Malaysia-China Shadow Puppetry Cultural Workshop, themed with "Silk Road, Connection & Conversation", was recently launched online and offline at the Chinese Cultural Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Shadow Play Museum in Huanxian county, Qingyang, Gansu province.

A poster for the Malaysia-China Shadow Puppetry Cultural Workshop [Photo/gansudaily.com.cn]

As an important part of the 2022 Malaysia-Gansu cultural tourism creation exchange plan, the event features lectures, performances, and training. The workshop is expected to provide a stage for dialogue on shadow puppet culture between the two places.

Huanxian is the hometown of shadow puppetry in China. Daoqing shadow play performers in Huanxian have visited 19 countries, including Russia, Germany, and Italy, on behalf of China.

The Daoqing shadow play genre of eastern Gansu is an art blending high-pitched, sonorous Daoqing music with delicate, vivid shadow play.

In Huanxian, there are still some 50 Daoqing shadow play groups performing in towns and villages. To probe this unique art, our group, consisting of six people engaged in the research of folk music and literature, took a three-day trip to the county last October.