Taishan Shadow Puppetry

Taishan shadow puppetry has a long history recorded as early as the Ming-dynasty book Taotaowu Xianping, reaching back some six hundred years. Passed down through generations in Tai'an and flourishing since the Ming, it entered the second national ICH list in 2008 under traditional theatre. Its figures and props are made of donkey hide, hence its other name "donkey-hide shadow."

What sets Taishan shadow puppetry apart is the "ten-at-once" art: a single performer works several figures at once while also playing the music, speaking and singing, carrying the whole show alone. The figures are simple and archaic in form, and the singing carries the Taishan dialect; heard in its voice and seen in its shapes, every part breathes the depth and antiquity of Mount Tai culture.

Taishan shadow puppetry is a treasure of the mountain's folk art, carrying the street entertainment and dialect culture of the Tai'an region; its "ten-at-once" skill is unique among Chinese shadow arts, holding real artistic and folkloric value.

Taishan shadow puppetry is staged at venues such as Tai'an Old Street, where visitors can watch and try it up close.