(XINHUA)

Two shadow play artists perform in Tongxiang, east China's Zhejiang Province, on November 15.

Chinese shadow play was added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List on November 27.

Shadow play, an art form that dates back at least 2,000 years, is a form of theater where colorful silhouette figures perform traditional plays against a back-lit cloth screen, accompanied by music and singing. The figures are made from leather or paper. Artists manipulate figures with rods to make them come to life.

Normally, shadow play skills, such as simultaneously manipulating several figures, singing improvisationally, and playing various musical instruments, are handed down from generation to generation in families or performance troupes.