The shadow play or leather silhouette play is an ancient art form, which has its roots in China. Chinese shadow play stories and characters are mostly from folk lore and classic literature. The shows would be performed during weddings, holidays, and funerals. It was once very popular in China. But now, only a handful of people still perform. You can find framed shadow play puppet at Galleria Pangea. Our puppets, by Xue Hongquan, are hand carved and painted, also features movable joints just like the leather puppets used in actual plays. You can open up the frame, attach sticks, and perform your own show for your children.
Here is a video of the puppet making process.

Here is a video clip of an actual shadow play performance by Hua County Troupe.

The facial makeup, fighting moves, and interesting stories really makes Beijing (Peking) opera an interesting way to learn Chinese culture. Even Jackie Chan was in a Beijing opera troupe and learned his moves there when he was young.

You can find Beijing opera wall art and painted masks from our store.

The following Beijing opera video clip features a story from the Romance of Three Kingdoms. One of the best known books in China. The stories and characters have become a part of the Chinese culture. You can find Three Kingdom characters related products at Galleria Pangea too. Cao Cao of Wei, Zhao Yuan and Guan Yu of Shu are featured in this clip.

So you have seen our Nuo Masks and know a few things about Nuo rituals, here is a video of the actual Nuo ritual with dancers wearing the wooden masks. The dancers wear the mask on their foreheads on top of the black veil that covers the face and neck.

Big thanks to our nuo mask artist Mr. Hu for sending in the video.

Recently a customer emailed us "what's so special about Bamboo porcelain?"

Our bamboo porcelain is very different from what you have seen. The patterns and designs on the bamboo cover are not painted. The bamboo threads are color coded; and the designs and patterns are woven by hand. That's why our bamboo porcelain items are very different from the ones you found in China Town. Making these china pieces requires skill and is very time consuming. You can watch this video clip about the artist and the making of the Bamboo Porcelain.

This is a video shot at Pottery artist Gao Shuiwang's workshop. A rough making process of the Tang Dynasty Tri-color pottery replica. It was very interesting to see that the glaze was just in different shades of orange. After the second fire, the glaze will melt and blend into each other, thus creating amazing colors and shapes.

The process follows the traditional method, very time consuming. And the result is much better than tri-color done with modern technology.

Enjoy the video. Tri-color pottery for sale can be found at our store.