Narges Abyar, Iran’s Famous Director and Voter of the Academy Awards: Weinan’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Needs to Go Global

On Aug 24, directors of the movie Chang'an Chang'an themed on the Belt and Road Initiative visited Weinan City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, trying to choose a suitable film location. They went to the inheritance base of Laoqiang Opera in Shuangquan Village of Huayin City and watched the opera performance. In Huazhou District of Weinan City, the directors met Xue Hongquan, an inheritor of Huazhou Shadow Puppetry which has been recognized as a state-level intangible cultural heritage, learning more about the development of Huazhou Shadow Puppetry throughout all these years.

Laoqiang Opera Performance (Photo by Zhao Junzhe)

After watching the Laoqiang Opera performance, Narges Abyar, Iran’s famous director and voter of the Academy Awards, praised Laoqiang Opera as China's "traditional rock and roll".

Directors of the movie Chang'an Chang'an are taking a group photo with the performers of Laoqiang Opera. (Photo by Zhao Junzhe)

At the foot of Shaohua Mountain, the directors met Xue Hongquan, an inheritor of Huazhou Shadow Puppetry which has been recognized as a state-level intangible cultural heritage, learned about the development of shadow puppetry in a puppetry art museum, witnessed how to make shadow puppets in a studio, watched shadow puppet shows titled the Mouse Stealing Oil and the Silk Road, and observed players control shadow puppets behind the scenes.

Narges Abyar noted that Huazhou Shadow Puppetry is full of novelty and tells stories in the form of cartoons and animations. It is about not only skills but also art presentation. Hence, its inheritance should be enhanced and the intangible cultural heritage needs to go global.

Directors of the movie Chang'an Chang'an are taking a group photo with the performers of Huazhou Shadow Puppetry. (Photo by Zhao Junzhe)