【推荐2】My brush was tiny, more like something you’d use for nail polish. That was suitable because I was struggling to paint the toenails of my dragon shadow puppet (皮影戏偶). Mao Zhongbo, our teacher, noticed my struggle and showed me how to keep my brush from becoming overloaded with pigment (颜料). It was an unexpected personal touch from the resident master at a Beijing hotel.

Shichahai Shadow Art Performance Hotel is a step back in time. Surrounded by a forest of skyscrapers, this little inn is in a hutong. Once you open its massive wooden doors, you enter a calm space that direct your gaze to the framed shadow puppet art that decorates the walls. The mission here is clear: to educate guests about a dying part of Chinese culture before it’s too late.

I visited here last winter. As a theater lover, I hoped to get a behind-the-scenes look into a completely different performing art. The inn provides English interpreters who help make the cultural offerings accessible to its foreign guests. These include performances in the private puppet theater at the hotel and several classes taught by master Mao.

One night, I watched Mao and several other hotel employees perform the classic tale “Turtle and Crane”. The animals’ flexible movements made me forget that puppeteers controlled them. Afterward, I tried my hand at controlling the many sticks needed to make each puppet move effortlessly. My awkward attempts to operate several sticks at once showed why it takes years to master something that looks simple.

I asked Mao whether anyone could learn to be a shadow puppet performer. He paused, then answered, “Like ballet, some have a talent for this and some don’t. Making a puppet seem real comes from the hands, the heart and the brain. It also takes passion.”

At the end of my stay, I went to the lobby to get my dragon shadow puppet. I noticed Mao giving a class to a group of local youngsters, confirming me in my belief that he would inspire a new generation of masters.

【推荐3】While most TV stations try to attract viewers by producing reality shows, Henan TV has become famous by promoting (推广) traditional culture through Chinese dance. Henan TV produced several dance pieces introducing traditional culture for traditional festivals, such as Rhapsody on the Luo River Goddess (《洛神水赋》), an underwater dance for the Dragon Boat Festival, and Guardian Warriors of Longmen (《龙门金刚 》), a dance piece supported by AR technology against the backdrop of the Longmen Grottoes(石窟).

“These pieces have got nearly 30 billion hits,” says Yao Wei, vice⁃director of Henan TV. “It’s a huge success for Henan TV.”

On Nov. 1, 2021, Yao was invited to talk about how the TV station had produced the hit dance pieces at a three⁃day forum (论坛) centering on the research into Chinese dance.

“The pieces are popular with audiences, most of whom are Gen Z,” Yao says.

“It’s been over forty years since the country’s reform(改革) and opening⁃up and the younger generations have grown up with open minds. They love Chinese culture and are proud of it,” says Yao. “What we need to do is to bring Chinese culture and tradition in interesting ways for those young people.”

Yao adds that Henan TV has been producing shows promoting traditional culture, such as traditional operas and kung fu, for nearly 30 years.

“To allure younger audiences, we are also changing our shows. One of the keys is to produce them with creativity,” Yao says. “For example, the latest technology and special stage settings, like underwater scenes, have become our new ways of telling stories about traditional Chinese culture.”

Another key to successfully reaching younger audiences is using social media to promote their shows.

“Social media is being shaped and driven by young people. It’s a powerful form of communication. When they watch short videos, they easily become interested in an eye⁃catching video,” Yao says.