A Taiwanese puppeteer and his puppets

Glove puppetry - called "budaixi" in Mandarin Chinese, is a type of puppet theater that uses puppets with wooden heads and cloth bodies. It originated during the 17th century in southeastern China's Fujian province and was brought to Taiwan by Fujianese settlers. In Taiwan, it was one of the most popular forms of entertainment in the old days, before there were movie theaters or television. Over the past centuries, it has survived despite cultural suppression, language restrictions and later competition from modern entertainment. One of Taiwan's few remaining masters of traditional budaixi, Chen Hsi-huang, the son of famous Taiwanese puppet master Li Tien-lu, is still performing and teaching students at the age of 89. He tells CNA how he learned the art form and the secret to putting on a good puppet show.