Chinese Puppetry has more than one thousand years of history. It began as a cultural ritual, and later became a form of entertainment to the royal family and common public.

Chinese puppetry has developed tremendously over the years. It has combined artistic expression with detailed hand craft, traditional Chinese Opera movements and music, beautifully-engineered mechanical puppet parts and western technology to tell the story. Dragon Art Studio is the only professional Chinese Puppet Theater in the U.S.

Dragon Art Studio persentation blends puppetry and music with elegance, humor and special effects to create a beautiful theatrical event. Chinese rod puppetry, seldom seen here in America, is an ancient art form revered throughout China. Our puppet show will delight and enthrall the audience while giving a special insight into Chinese folklore and culture.

Puppeteers win National Heritage Fellowship

Dragon Art puppeteers Yuqin Wang and Zhengli Xu were honored by the National Endowment for the Arts, which presented them with the 2004 National Heritage Fellowship Award, the highest honor our nation gives to folk and traditional artists. Previous Fellows have included B.B. King, Earle Skruggs and Michael Flatley. Eight other artists received the award this year.

National Endowment for the Arts Award page

Notable Performances

  • Olympic Games, Atlanta 1996
  • National Folk Festivals:
    East Lansing, MI 1999
    Lowell, MA 2000
    Bangor, ME 2004
  • Kennedy Center 2002
  • Library of Congress 2002
  • Center for Puppetry Arts 2001
    (Atlanta: largest puppetry center in the US)