Global puppets make friends with Shanghai children

Some Shanghai children made new friends over the weekend. More than 20 puppet shows from around the world performed at the third Shanghai International Puppet Festival.

This little ghost has come all the way from England to meet children here. And puppeteer Jose Navarro also brought seven others, including a musician, an Indian goddess and a ballet dancer. One of his acts gave local families a pleasant surprise.

An audience member said, "I felt so itchy when the little ghost was moving on my hand, but I really love those puppets."

Another audience member said, "Children usually spend a lot of time playing with cell phones or computers. They don't usually have a chance to watch amazing shows like this, and that's why I brought my daughter here today. This British artist gave his puppets new life and we really enjoyed the show."

The Shanghai International Puppet Festival has been bringing artists from around the world here since 2009. The city has one local puppet troupe that puts on more than 500 shows here every year. Its director says the festival is a good way for local and international puppeteers to meet each other.

Puppet Show Director said, "Our puppet show requires complicated techniques, and entertainers in western puppet shows are better at expressing themselves. We learn from each other."

One puppeteer said, "It's just sharing, basically, something I was doing on my own basically, exploring different, all the possibilities and different techniques."

Troupes from 12 countries, including Russia, Serbia and France, also put on shows over the past three days, involving all types of puppets.