Home of Chinese Hand Puppets & Marionettes!

Ahoy from Amoy! (now Xiamen).  A man emailed today asking, "Prof. Bill, Is glove puppet theater 布袋戲Poo-te-hi widespread in Amoy 廈門, Choanchiu 泉州, and Chiangchiu 漳州 today? Is it easy to view these performances let alone purchase glove puppets in these areas?"

Yes to both questions! Quanzhou, called Zayton (origin of our word "satin") by the Arabs and Marco Polo, was not only the greatest port of the ancient world, rivaling Alexandria, Egypt, but also home to China's amazing marionettes. Puppeteers manipulate up to 30 strings so well that they can actually bend over and with their little wooden fingers pick up pieces of paper from the floor!

And Zhangzhou, just 30 miles west of Xiamen, is home to hand puppets that can perform acrobatics (even somersaults, spin plates, juggle), serve tea, smoke pipes, fight tigers... They are absolutely amazing--nothing like the little hand puppets I made and played with as a child. They truly come to life.

Puppets are popular in South Fujian, and you can see shows of both hand puppets and marionettes in Xiamen, as well as in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. Please refer to my Amazon eBooks "Discover Xiamen" (2.99) or "Fujian Adventure" (1.99) for photos and more information.

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

Dr. Bill's Amazon eBooks

"Discover Xiamen" $2.99

"Fujian Adventure" $1.99

www.amoymagic.com