Dragon in the Sky Shadow Puppet Theater in Beijing

The performance is 40 minutes and consists of two puppet performances and two dance routines. If you don't understand Chinese, it won't matter. The puppet shows have no speaking parts. There is only music. The stories are traditional Chinese folktales and are easy enough to understand simply through the actions of the puppets.

After each puppet show, the actors come out, holding their puppets so you can see who was operating which puppets. Some puppets take more than one person to operate! Between the two shows, the audience is invited to the back for a hands-on demonstration. You can hold the puppets, see how they work, and take photos if you like. At the end of the last dance routine, the audience is invited to the stage to learn the dance moves! I strongly encourage you to participate. It's silly and very fun! My friend and I learned the Chicken Dance, and I can tell you that we laughed and laughed about it all over Beijing the rest of the week.

Then you can browse around the gallery and learn how the puppets are created. There are many different puppets on display in the gallery. And amazingly, not once did I hear an employee say "Don't touch that!" or "Put that down!" In fact, they welcomed our exploration and seemed genuinely pleased at our fascination with the puppets. This positive approach really impressed me!

Below you can find a sneak peak of the performances. One interesting fact about the puppet troupe is that all the actors are dwarfs. They may look like children in the photos, but that's simply because they are all under 120 centimeters tall. When you see them in person, you will realize that these are adults (albeit some of them are young adults).

If you desire an English translation of the gallery tour, you'll need to arrange that ahead of time. Have a Chinese speaking friend or tour guide help you contact the Dragon in the Sky Puppet Theater to set that up. Otherwise, all the explanations and introductions will be spoken in Mandarin Chinese.

Contact Telephone Numbers
Phone --(86) 10 - 62618506
Mobile --(86) 13621399612
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Tickets are 120 RMB per person. (Click here for a currency converter.) You can reserve seats ahead of time by phone and purchase the tickets (in cash) when you arrive.

There are three shows daily except for Monday.

10:00-11:30 AM
2:00 - 3:30 PM
4:00 - 5:30 PM

We took a taxi to the Puppet Theater. The ride was expensive, and the driver had to call the theater for directions. Print out this image of the address if you want to take a taxi or hire a car.



But actually, the entrance to the theater compound is RIGHT at the Yuan Ming Yuan Subway stop. On our way home, we took the subway for a fraction of the price of a taxi.


Here is the official business card for the Dragon in the Sky Shadow Puppet Theater.

At the puppet theater you will learn the story of the origin of Chinese shadow puppets.

In 121 BC, a Han Dynasty emperor lost his beloved concubine. A Taoist priest created the shadow puppet of her likeness to soothe the emperor's grief. The emperor was so moved by the realistic portrayal of his love that he believed the priest had brought her back to life. This was the beginning of a Chinese folk art. Later, traveling troupes of performers would present entertaining shows in villages across the nation.

You will also learn the answer to why shadow puppets are always designed with removable heads.

Some people feared that the puppets would come to life at night and cause mischief. To prevent that disaster, the puppet owners removed the heads from the puppets before storing them for the night. "Decapitating" the puppets would remove their ability to come to life, according to the superstition. Even today, puppets are created according to this tradition.

The puppet theater has one toilet -- a squatty potty that is (according to the actors' own admission) very, very dirty. Expect a nasty toilet or do your best to avoid it.

There is no snack stall at or near the puppet theater, so bring your own bottled drinks and snacks.