Visitors experience the immersive exhibition of Chinese shadow puppetry, which merges a two-millennia-old tradition with cutting-edge digital technology in Shanghai on August 19, 2023.  (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Piying Dream, an immersive exhibition celebrating traditional Chinese shadow puppetry, kicked off in Shanghai and Shenzhen of Guangdong province on August 19.

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To create the exhibition, Temple of Light, a pioneer in the creation of new art experiences using cutting-edge audio-visual technologies, joined hands with the Chinese Shadow Play Folk Art Museum and Ma's Shadow Play Troupe to create digital imagery from the vast collection of the museum, and had performed motion captures of shadow puppetry performers.

Chinese shadow puppets based on some of the iconic characters in Chinese literature are displayed in an immersive audio-visual form in Piying Dream exhibition in Shanghai, on August 19, 2023.  (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Shadowplay has a history of more than 2,000 years in China. This art form involves performers manipulating puppets made from the leather of donkeys or oxen from behind a curtain.

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The exhibition features well-known characters from the repertoire of traditional shadow play and takes audiences on a dream-like journey featuring original music and sound effects.

A visitor takes part in an immersive exhibition of high-resolution images and motion-captured animations of ancient Chinese shadow puppets in Shanghai, on August 19, 2023.  (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The exhibition will run till the end of November at the North Bund Greenery in Hongkou district of Shanghai, and OCT Harbour Mall in Nanshan district of Shenzhen, Guangdong province.