A 300-year-old form of Chinese shadow puppetry was dealt a severe blow after heavy rains flooded a museum in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, destroying thousands of irreplaceable puppets and props.
Brothers Wang Biao and Wang Fang said that more than 6,000 of the handmade puppets were ruined after their workshop in Langzhong was flooded on Saturday.
The men are the seventh generation of Wang family shadow play, which is a registered intangible cultural heritage and receives support from the Chinese government.
The family estimates the flood caused 6 million yuan ($900,000) in damages.
Shadow puppetry involves figures intricately carved from cowhide which are then dyed and ornamented with feathers.
The Wangs explained it takes about 7 days to complete a piece.
Each shadow play requires between three to 10 different characters, Wang Biao said.
