The puppet show performed by Pinglan Primary School.[Photo by Li Xusheng]

A group of children were happily running on the playground of the Pinglan Primary School in Sanxiang Town on Monday afternoon. The school's dance teacher Zhou Mao was cheerfully shouting instructions from the sideline. The children were not taking just any ordinary PE class. Instead, they were engaged in physical training for a puppet show. 

Reportedly, the puppet show "Painted Faces and Colorful Clothes", which was created and performed by the school's puppet troupe, won the gold medal at The 7th Zhongshan Children's Art Fair, in November, 2018.

As a combination of puppet show and children's dance, this kind of wonderful performance has aroused widespread public attention. On Jan 1 of this year, the troupe was invited to Foshan City to participate in the recording of the Children Spring Festival Gala of CCTV's program "Sunflowers in Full Bloom".

The Sanxiang Puppet Show originated during the Emperor Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. However, it had gradually become forgotten as time went by. In order to "save" this cultural treasure, the Sanxiang government and Zhongshan Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center co-founded the Sanxiang Puppet Show Association in 2009. They also took action to promote the puppet show in schools by carrying out the "Revival of the Puppet Show" campaign in various venues.