Shadow Puppets

Of Shadows and Substance--Shadow Puppet Show

More than 2,000 years of history, art and artistry are bound up in the delicate donkey-hide figures parading before visitors to a quiet corner of Liulichang Street. The spectators are attending a performance of the Beijing Shadow Puppet Theater Troupe at No. 29 Liulichang Dongjie. They are witnessing an ancient tradition being preserved largely through the efforts of two men: one, Lu Baogang, with strong ties to Old Beijing; the other, Tony Huang, with strong ties to China's future.