An exhibition of "Shadow Play", an intangible cultural heritage, opens on the first floor of the National Center for the Performing Arts on July 11, 2009. Pupils from Dong Jiao Min Xiang Primary School were invited to join ambassadors from Singapore, Mexico, Hungary and Peru in China to be the show's first audience.

Visitors enjoyed the beautiful shadow play art works at the National Center for the Performing Arts. [Xinhua]

Visitors enjoyed the beautiful shadow play art works while experts from the Chinese Academy of Arts explained the principles behind them. The Beijing Shadow Play Theater Group taught foreign guests and Chinese children about Chinese folk culture with a performance of three traditional plays, "Turtle and Crane", "The Monkey King Thrice Defeats the Skeleton Demon", and "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King".

As one of the oldest art forms in China, shadow puppetry is called a "living fossil" of Chinese folk art. The exquisite shapes, expressive performance techniques and unique music used in shadow puppetry have attracted many, especially young people who are used to pop culture.

Props, instruments and scripts used in the plays are all on display, and visitors can also learn about how the puppets and props for the plays are made.

An official at the National Center for the Performing Arts said the center is working on protecting and promoting intangible cultural heritages of China. The first similar exhibition after the center's completion was one on Chinese intangible cultural heritages in 2007. The theater will continue to help audiences learn more about folk cultures through exhibitions with different cultural themes.

The shadow puppetry exhibition will last through to July 23, 2009.