For millions of Chinese people, the traditional Spring Festival is not just about cuisine and family reunion, but also about art and entertainment. In Xiaoyi City of north China's Shanxi Province, a place known for the art of shadow puppet, folk artists are fine tuning their repertoires for the pending Spring Festival performance season.

Liang Quanming lives in a village far away from the Xiaoyi Marionette and Shadow Puppet Art Group. This morning, the old master came to town early to teach his students some more of the songs and movements of puppet show play.

Spring Festival is the golden time of the year for the small local group, when they are invited to perform in many neighboring counties.

Shadow puppetry has a long history in Xiaoyi. It first spread into the place some 700 years ago during the Yuan Dynasty. It blossomed in Xiaoyi to become the most popular folk art in the region.

As the most renowned inheritor of the ancient art, puppet master Liang Quanming is helping the art group not only to perfect their old, traditional shows, but also to work on new ones to reflect modern life, and modern people.

(CCTV.com January 16, 2004)