Old shadow puppeteers have a new mission

Every Saturday afternoon, free shadow puppetry shows are staged at the community center of Kangjian sub-district, Xuhui district, Shanghai. Led by Shen Mingquan, the 78-year-old intangible cultural heritage inheritor of Shanghai’s shadow puppetry, the Guilin Shadow Puppetry Troupe has been putting on performances here for 21 years. Its members are all elderly seniors, whose combined age tops 800 years and dubbed as “Team 800". Beyond community performances, Shen brings shadow puppetry to schools and launched workshops, in the hope that finding new successors to keep this art form alive for future generations.