The classic puppet show Damingfu. [Photo/WeChat ID: centreculturelchine]

This Spring Festival, hand puppets from Zhangzhou, East China's Fujian province, enjoyed a unique Chinese New Year celebration in France.

The year 2024 marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France, a milestone year brimming with a plethora of artistic and cultural exchanges, as well as the Chinese-French Year of Cultural Tourism.

During the Chinese Lunar New Year, traditional cultural elements from Zhangzhou, such as puppet shows, paper-cutting, woodcut New Year paintings, and Minnan Gongfu tea, offered a unique experience to the people of France in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

As a significant event within the Chinese-French Year of Cultural Tourism, the Zhangzhou Minnan cultural week featured the Zhangzhou Puppet Troupe presenting five performances over four days in Paris, showcasing classic plays such as Damingfu.

On stage, lifelike puppets poured wine and danced with silk, delighting the audience below. Although the French audience was unfamiliar with the story's background, the fantastic performance still managed to captivate them.

Audiences of all ages easily grasped the storytelling of Zhangzhou hand puppets, which is what makes it so captivating.

The puppet show also has a historic connection with Paris. Sixty-seven years ago, the classic puppet performance Damingfu was born in Paris, bearing witness to the profound and enduring friendship between China and France.

French children are entranced by the puppet show. [Photo/WeChat ID: centreculturelchine]