Puppeteers, both young and old, from across the country gathered for the 5th Golden Lion national puppet skills contest in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, Sept 22 to 26, to display their skills and compete for prizes.

The gathering will be a showcase of traditional plays, classic show techniques, technical performances, and puppeteer excellence, as a way of preserving and developing puppetry and shadow play arts in China.

Sponsors of the show are the Union Internationale de la Marionnette’s (International Puppet Organization) Chinese Center, the China Puppetry and Shadow Arts Association, and Harbin’s Culture and Publishing Bureau.

Competitors practicing their puppetry skills at the Harbin Music Hall. [Photo/my399.com]