Nowadays, more than 20 countries are said to have shadow puppet play troupes. In China , since the time as early as Song Dynasty or more than 1000 years ago, the shadow puppet play was quite popular and played an important role in holiday entertainment. Till the Ming Dynasty, in the city of Beijing alone, there are more than 40 shadow puppet troupes.

To be more exact, it can be called leather silhouette play. Each carved fantastic figure is made of sheep or donkey skin, which is removed of hairs and chemically treated. The trunk, head, arms and legs of a shadow puppet are carved with such translucent materials and joined together by thread so that each part is flexible enough to make all kinds of movements manipulated by the operator. When the play begins, these puppets are held close to a white curtain on which their shadows cast by a strong light from behind. With the sticks on which threads are fastened, the operators are able to move the figures to the music and the roles they played. The style of all the distinct puppets has evolved from the traditional Chinese art of paper-cutting. The themes of the plays are often Chinese traditional stories, legends, and operas.

Shadow puppet plays boast the advantage of mobility for the equipment is portable. Six or seven folk artists with a box of shadow puppets can perform more than 30 plays. As long as there is enough room to set up a curtain and the light box, the operators can put on the performance in halls, squares, courtyards or even rooms. When the play is over, they just sort all the puppets into a box for the next time performance.

Shadow puppets can also be used to decorate the windows, the doors and the walls. Some people are also interested in collecting shadow puppets.