The Olympic Village in Beijing is more than the athletes' compound for the Beijing Olympics. It’s a place where athletes can unwind and get to know Chinese culture.

The Chinese Traditional Arts and Crafts Show, located in the international area of the village, is part of the effort to offer the delegation members a full experience with Chinese culture. 27 Chinese folk artists are selected to demonstrate their skills in the Olympic Village from July 27 to August 27. Live craft making ranges from New Year painting to paper-cuts, kites, embroidery, cloth artifacts, clay figurines, facial masks and much more.

Shadow play

The shadow show, illuminated puppet figures - by three to five manipulators -- on a transparent white cloth screen, is an artistic combination of opera, music, fine art and special craftsmanship. It is a very typical traditional entertainment that has survived and thrived over the centuries.

Shadow play artists from Beijing and Shaanxi are invited to the Beijing Olympic Village to give live performances there.

New Year’s Painting

New Year's Paintings are pasted on walls and doors during Spring Festival, the most important traditional Chinese festival. In the past, as the Spring Festival approached, every family would clean its rooms and courtyards and paste New Year's Painting on the windows, doors, walls and stoves and in the Buddha niches to add to the New Year atmosphere, and at the same time, to seek good luck in the coming year.

Wood block printing was invented in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and made the production of New Year's Wood Block Paintings much easier. As this art form developed and became more and more popular among Chinese people, its content and functions also increased.

Woodprint New Year painting from Wuqiang is noted as one of China's seven major New Year painting genres. The other six are from Taohuawu of Jiangsu, Yangliuqing of Tianjin, Mianzhu of Sichuan, Yangjiabu of Shandong, Zhuxianzhen of Henan and Foshan of Guangdong.

Liu Guosheng and Kang Yingqin, two folk artists from the Museum of New Year’s Painting in Wuqian County, Hebei Province, are at the Olympic Village to show how to make traditional Chinese New Year’s Painting on the spot.