Chris Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA, and Roger Dow, president of Tourism Association of USA, learn to play puppet show. [Photo by Liu Xiaoyu / xmnn.cn]

The US delegates of the eighth China-US Tourism Leadership Summit were invited to a special celebration and enjoyed a serious of traditional performances of Minnan, from southern Fujian, including Nanyin music and a hand puppet show on October 29 in Xiamen, Fujian Province.

As the last agenda of the Summit, the celebration dinner party was held on a cruise on the Lujiang river, which is also known as the strait between Xiamen island and Gulangyu island.

The hand puppet show, performed by local folk artists, was based on one the the greatest ancient novels in Chinese history called All Men Are Brothers.

US delegates of the eighth China-US Tourism Leadership Summit learn to play puppet show. [Photo by Liu Xiaoyu / xmnn.cn]

Although controlled by one hand, the puppets were able to accomplish a variety of actions such as balancing a mini wine jar on their heads and performing a lion dance.

The hand puppet show won immediate and enthusiastic responses from the US delegates. At the end of the show, folk artists walked from behind the curtain and held a special teaching session for the guests from the US.

"It is amazing that China has such a great and diverse culture. The Nanyin music and the hand puppet show are treasures of human civilization. I will definitely recommend my family and friends to come here and experience the magic of the arts,” said Ron Kuhlman, vice president of tourism marketing and sales of the Virginia beach convention and visitors bureau.

By Liu Xiaoyu from China Daily Fujian Bureau