The Puppet Troupe of Guangdong Province was founded in April 1956. Over the past 40 years or so, the company has created more than 300 programs, including fairy tales and contemporary plays and stories for children. Among them, "Lotus Fairies" was adapted into a color film with the co-operation of the Great Wall Film Studio of Hong Kong in 1957.
The troupe's "Monkey King" and the "Magic Fan" won prizes for excellent repertoire at the National Puppet Show Festival in 1959. In 1960, the company was honored with the highest silver prize at the Second International Puppet Show Festival held in Romania. "Ne Zha Caused Havoc at Sea" won a prize for excellent play at the National Puppet Show in 1981.
The troupe's boasts such plays as "Three Attacks on the White Bone Devil," "Magic Arrow," "The Adventure of Pinocchio," "Top on the List," "One Hundred Birds Returning to Nests," "Genuine and Fake Monkey Kings," "Five Rams," "Silk Dance," "Fighting for Husband," "Princess Flower" and "Dragon and Phoenix Presenting Happiness." The company presented a selection of its best plays and won the Gold Star Award at the 8th International Puppet Show Festival held in Slovenia, and also walked away with the Special Prize, as well as the Prize for Best Actor, at the 2nd International Children's Puppet Show Festival in Czech Republic. The performed at the Asian Arts Festival in New Zealand in March 1999. Programs presented by the company were awarded the prize for a Quality Art Work in 1997 and the Special Arts Prize issued by the Guangdong Municipal Government.
The theater's puppets are renowned for their vividness, fine polishing, ingenuity and originality - each possessing its own special characteristics. Some of the puppets are sent to Cambodia, Burma, Pakistan, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, France, America, Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary, as well as the International Puppets Arts Association. Meanwhile, the theater also provides entertainment facilities for amusement parks.
The famous artists of the troupe include performers Li Yuchao, Cui Keqin, playwright Cen Yuanzhen and art designer He Weichao.
The troupe staged more than 300 performances every year in factories, the countryside, for the army, at schools and kindergartens. It also delivers operas free of charge to remote mountainous areas and impoverished areas - a feat that is highly praised by the Ministry of culture and other governmental institutions.
Address: No 51 Hongde Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
Zip code: 510235
Tel: (020) 84309260
Fax: (020) 84309261
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