An activity to promote reading among children was held in the rural library of Zhouwei village, Xianfeng subdistrict, Tongzhou district recently. More than 30 children from the village learned more about traditional culture and experienced Chinese shadow puppet-making.

Through an audiobook of Journey to the West, one of the four classic novels of ancient China, a teacher shared some excerpts from the story with the children in lively and interesting language.

The children participated in the interaction. Under the guidance of the teacher, they played the roles of Tang Seng, the Monkey King and other characters in the novel on the spot, and made shadow puppets to perform on stage.

Chinese shadow puppetry was one of the earliest types of opera in China. It has a history of more than 2,000 years and is an ancient traditional Chinese folk art. The interesting shadow puppet-making activity not only allowed the children to experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture, but also increased the popularity and usage rate of the rural library in Zhouwei through parent-child participation.

Over 30 children from Zhouwei village, Tongzhou district, learn how to perform Chinese shadow puppetry. [Photo/WeChat account: wxtzfb]