Pulling the strings for cultural treats

As business got on the right track, Wang also quit her job to fully commit to puppetry.

In addition to the hiring of short puppeteers, other innovations have played key roles in the revitalization of the art.

Wang and her team have created many children's plays featuring plots based on classic Chinese fairy tales and novels. Plays based on real life have also been introduced, including about COVID-19 prevention and control, and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Innovation in content inevitably leads to innovation in form. "Compared to traditional shadow puppet shows, we have incorporated new elements, making significant changes to the appearance of the characters, their costumes, stage settings and props," Wang says.

So, for example, elements like ambulances during COVID-19 and pet dogs have all been presented true to life.

The puppeteers also have to put in a little extra effort. "For example, to accurately portray figure skating, the performers need to carefully study the movements of figure skaters in videos before being able to execute all the lifts, jumps and spins with precision," Wang explains.

In 2018, Wang opened a Douyin account to promote the shows. "We got 290 million views in three days, which was unbelievable," she says, adding that so far, topics related to the shows by Wang and her team have been viewed over 69 billion times.

The couple have also visited more than 1,000 primary and middle schools to draw attention to the art, and have set up puppetry clubs in 20 schools.