Hehuang shadow puppetry -- art at fingertips

An inheritor carves out a puppet at a shadow puppetry troupe in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 14, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Xue Di)

As a form of traditional theater, Chinese shadow puppetry involves manipulating colorful silhouette figures made from leather behind a translucent cloth screen with music and singing.

A woman views a puppet at a shadow puppetry troupe in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 14, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Xue Di)

Puppets are displayed at a shadow puppetry troupe in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 14, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Xue Di)

Inheritors view puppets at a shadow puppetry troupe in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 14, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Xue Di)

An inheritor works on puppets at a shadow puppetry troupe in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 14, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Xue Di)

Puppets are displayed at a shadow puppetry troupe in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 14, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Xue Di)

An inheritor colors a puppet at a shadow puppetry troupe in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 14, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Xue Di)

Inheritors perform a shadow puppet play at a shadow puppetry troupe in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Dec. 14, 2023. (Photo: China News Service/Xue Di)