Puppet masters in Shiqian county, Guizhou province fear that the 200-year-old art form is at risk of dying out.

Puppetry has a 200 year history in the province and the particular type found in the county was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

Puppets from the area are large and require significant skills to master, according to 84-year-old Fu Zhenghua, an inheritor of puppet shows in the county. Puppet shows are performed on stages over ten feet wide, enclosed by a piece of blue cloth hanging on four bamboo sticks.

Since the show is under threat from lack of participants, masters have donated their instruments to help spread the culture. Meanwhile, local middle schools in Shiqian have set up puppet show training classes.

Experienced puppet masters pose with their favorite characters in the front of the camera. [Photo/sohu.com]