Town Gallery brings Chinese Art to you and your family!

Leather Shadow Opera

One thousand years ago, a unique entertainment appeared in China.  A new opera with beautiful music and graceful performance attracted enthusiastic audience in the Palace and then all over the country.  Surprisingly, all actors in the opera  are not real people, they are amazingly sculpted leather puppets. However, the audience doesn't see the puppets directly.  The performers hold the "actors" on the stage behind a white screen lit up in the dark, so all the audience sees is the mysterious shadows of the puppets on the screen.  Behind the stage, a musical band plays folk music and actors and actress tell the stories through songs and dialogue. 

Leather Shadow Opera is a gorgeous combination of Chinese folk art, music and singing.  Chinese people call it "Min Jian Dian Ying" (folk movie).

With the advent of modern entertainment like movies and television, this unique folk entertainment is on the decline, but if you are interested, you can still find opportunities to enjoy it in China.