The original "A Dream of Huaxu - An Immersive Exhibition of Chinese Shadow Puppetry" will be officially launched on May 1st at the World Expo Museum. This morning, the World Expo Museum held a media tour.

Host by Director of the Expo Museum Liu Wentao

Co-founder of the Temple of Light Qiu Yelin presents an overview of the exhibition

Speech by the Deputy Consul General of France in Shanghai Mr. Ke Borui

Speech by Deputy Director ofShanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism Xiang Yihai

Guests

　　The exhibition is based on the Chinese Shadow Puppetry, which has been inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity List. Inspired by the ancient myth and legend "The Yellow Emperor dreamed of visiting Huaxu Kingdom, and then the world was greatly ruled", the exhibition has digitally re-created thousands of pieces from the tens of thousands of pieces of shadow collections of the China (Shanghai) Folk Shadow Art Museum, creating a whimsical world of light and shadow composed entirely of shadow elements.

　　Co-organized by the World Expo Museum and the Temple of Light, the exhibition aims to showcase the artistic charm of Chinese intangible cultural heritage - shadow puppetry - and to promote the exploration of the innovative development of traditional Chinese culture in the present and future. The audience seemed to travel through time and space, stepping into a fantastic and immersive ancient myth composed of shadow elements, and feeling the shock and touch brought by the non-genetic inheritance.

　　Non-Genetic Heritage, Culture Goes to Sea

　　As an important part of China's traditional culture, shadow puppetry has attracted countless audiences with its unique performance forms and rich cultural connotations. Officially inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2011, Chinese shadow puppetry in its development and evolution has continued to draw on the nutrition of other artistic disciplines, while relying on the deep heritage of folk culture, forming a unique artistic expression with very rich Chinese characteristics.

　　With traditional Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage as the core,"A Dream of Huaxu" uses the internationalized language of digital science and technology to digitally redevelop and reuse the ancient Intangible Cultural Heritage art of shadow puppetry. It is a new form of modernized interpretation of traditional shadow puppetry, and also opens a new window for shadow art to go global,"promoting Chinese culture to go global". The exhibition has begun its global tour and has received a good response, practicing the concept of " to write for conveying truth, to convey the voice of culture, to educate people", and explaining to the world the excellent culture with Chinese characteristics, reflecting the spirit of China and containing Chinese wisdom.

　　The audience not only learn about traditional shadow art, but also experience the world of shadow art through digital light and shadow content. This light and shadow tour not only shows the unique charm of traditional Chinese culture to the world, but also builds an important platform for the international dissemination and exchange of Chinese culture. Through the international tour, Chinese culture is able to have in-depth dialogues and exchanges with cultures around the world, promoting mutual understanding and respect among different cultures.

　　Innovation Revitalizes Traditional Art

　　Whether it's the script based on ancient myths, digital creation, advanced technology and live effects or music composition,"A Dream of Huaxu" demonstrates the spirit of innovation on many levels. As a project selected by Shanghai Municipality for "Chinese Culture Going Global","A Dream of Huaxu" has become a precedent for Chinese traditional culture IP original digital light and shadow works to go overseas commercially, which represents that China's immersive exhibitions have become world-class and are recognized and appreciated by the overseas immersive art market. The year 2024marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-France diplomatic ties, and is also the China-France Year of Culture and Tourism, this exhibition has been officially included in the official art program of the " China-France Cultural Spring - Special Presentation of the60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between ChinaandFrance ".

Exhibition setup

　　The exhibition consists of three sections, namely the physical display of traditional shadow puppets, immersive light and shadow experience and interactive workshops. The exhibition not only presents the artistic attainments of traditional shadow puppets, but also utilizes cutting-edge digital technology to revitalize this "living fossil" of a thousand years of art in the present day through education and fun. The exhibition has also specially designed a number of scenes in the venue that can be integrated into reality for the audience to take photos, so that the audience can enjoy a rich scene experience inside and outside the exhibition hall as they travel between the reality and the dreamlike and picturesque shadow wonderland.

    Traditional shadow puppets

Immersive Light and Shadow Experience

　　"A Dream of Huaxu" is the prelude to a world-class light and shadow stage for China's folk Intangible Cultural Heritage art. While providing a novel experience and baptizing the senses, the World Expo Museum also hopes to give the audience a new understanding of traditional Chinese culture and a deep inspiration.

　　Script Setting, Ancient Dreams of Huaxu in the Present Day

　　The allusion to "A Dream of Huaxu" comes from the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States period "Lie Zi - The Yellow Emperor", and the narrative background of the story relies on the myths and legends of the ancient times."Huaxu Clan" was the female leader of the state of Huaxu in ancient China, the mother of Fuxi and Nuwa, and the source and mother of Chinese civilization. History records that shadow puppets may have begun in the Han and Tang dynasties, but it is very likely that this form of interaction between light and shadow and dolls appeared at the beginning of Chinese civilization, along with rituals and worship. The choice of an ancient narrative background also highlights the long history of shadow puppets as a form of art, and at the same time, it expresses the creative team's respect for the origins of the Chinese civilization.

　　Outside the court, inside the court, the king is holy and the ministers are wise.

　　It is rumored that the realm of Huaxu is full of treasures and blessings, and everyone longs for it, but they cannot find it, so they think it is an illusion. In the relatively creative story line, various legends and histories of the Chinese civilization are brought together, fused and derived here. The audience seems to have traveled with the Yellow Emperor to that mysterious and beautiful country in the change of light and shadow and felt the long history and deep cultural background of shadow art.

　　A pilgrimage by all nations and Garden Festival

　　During the forty-minute light and shadow exhibition, the audience can see the Tang Monk, the Sand Monk and the characters of the Three Kingdoms Water Margin in the same parallel universe; the traditional elements such as social fire and folklore, juggling, floats and other traditional elements in the two-dimensional and three-dimensional folding and changing flow out of the ever-changing color combinations; the hustle and bustle of the Imperial City, the romantic dramas of the talents, beauties and villagers can be heard from the different corners of the arena. It is like stepping into an ancient dream of the present time and immersing yourself in the scenery of Huaxu.

　　The creative team has carried out in-depth research on more than 10,000 shadow artifacts in the collection of the China Folk Shadow Art Museum and digitally captured more than 3,000 of them in ultra-high definition, while keeping the spirit of "loyalty to tradition" throughout the entire creative process. Every character in the work, even a blade of grass and a piece of wood are based on the original shadow prototype through high-definition digital capture, plane processing, animation creation before finally entering the light and shadow work part of the picture. The images of shadow treasures collected for this purpose are unprecedented in terms of their age, geographical coverage, richness of style and high standard of clarity.

Ma's shadow theater troupe participates in blue screen motion capture shooting

　　At the same time, in order to make sure that the digital production of shadow characters can follow the traditional performance characteristics of shadow puppetry, every movement and expression of the shadow characters need to be carefully designed and adjusted to ensure that they are natural and smooth in three-dimensional space. The team invited Ma's Shadow Troupe to participate in the blue screen animation capture filming, the "soul" of the traditional shadow puppetry performance art for the first time through the blue screen animation capture technology, the original flavor into the contemporary digital immersive light and shadow stage. With the help of digital technology to provide a novel experience and sensory baptism, we also hope to give the audience a new understanding of traditional Chinese culture and deep inspiration.

　　A feast for the senses, creating an immersive art experience

　　The combination of art and digital technology is becoming a new trend in art education for the younger generation, and this change may lead more and more people into art.

Light and Shadow Hall Setting

　　In the visual expansion, spatialization treatment and other creative steps, the internationalized team brought diversified perspectives and innovative thinking, adding rich layers to the design and presentation of the exhibition. The Chinese, French and Italian designers, a team of 100 people spent 50,000 hours capturing the real performances of the sixth generation of Ma's shadow puppets through blue screen technology and combined with the contemporary aesthetic demand, extracted many common or unsurprising pattern elements, enlarged them to become an important decorative element of the space, and brought the audience a more visually impacting immersive experience design. Characters, buildings, flowers, trees and other elements are skillfully arranged in a three-dimensional environment superimposed on the use of light and shadow and spatial layout, the shadow art goes from flat to three-dimensional, from two-dimensional to three-dimensional, creating a strong sense of depth for the audience, a new immersive experience.

HD backlit digital capture

　　Contemporary original traditional music combines the performance of traditional instruments such as the pipa, guqin and guzheng with the art of light and shadow to create a feeling of crossing time and space. The melody and rhythm of the music echoed with the changes in light and shadow, enhancing the audience's sense of immersion. The audience was no longer a passive bystander, but a participant in the story, immersed in the scene with the shadow characters experiencing the ups and downs of each plot and truly experiencing the everlasting charm of the art of shadow.

　　Art is long, interactive experience enriches audience's cultural life

　　The depth of art lies in continuous exploration and innovation. In order to let the audience better participate in it and think about innovation, the exhibition creates an immersive light and shadow interactive hall for the audience, where the audience can interact with light and shadow and feel the interaction between light and shadow and people. In the Intangible Cultural Heritage Research and Learning Handicraft Workshop, the audience can intuitively understand how the shadow is made and completed, and can get their hands on DIY shadow making, coloring in the workshop, and experience the operation of the shadow performance behind the small shadow stage, completing the comprehensive experience of the Intangible Cultural Heritage shadow.

　　After the exhibition was launched, the World Expo Museum will also organize a series of social and public education activities on a regular basis with the Intangible Cultural Heritage shadow as the main theme to popularize the knowledge of Intangible Cultural Heritage among the public, so that more people will understand and participate in the protection and inheritance of traditional culture.

　　Cultural Mutual Learning, Building a Beautiful and Diverse World Together

　　Art is a language that transcends time and space, it can cross national boundaries, communicate hearts and pass on emotions. As a platform for international exchanges, the World Expo Museum has been making unremitting efforts to promote mutual understanding of cultures and art exchanges. Through the display and exchange of art, the World Expo Museum promotes a better understanding of the values and aesthetics of different cultures among countries all over the world, and jointly builds a harmonious and diversified world.

　　"A Dream of Huaxu" is not only a display of art, but also a cultural dialog. It closely connects Shanghai with the world, allowing audiences from different cultural backgrounds to experience and appreciate the profoundness of traditional Chinese culture.

　　Every change of light and shadow is a vivid embodiment of cultural heritage; every audience interaction is a sincere dialog of cultural exchange. On the occasion of the May Day holiday, let's immerse ourselves in the world of light and shadow of "A Dream of Huaxu" together with audiences from all over the world, adding a unique cultural experience to this holiday and witnessing the radiance of China's non-heritage culture in the new era.

　　Full-price ticket $85

　　Use date: 2024/5/1-2024/10/31

　　Concessionary Ticket RMB 50

　　Use date: 2024/5/1-2024/10/31

　　*Discounted tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, minors aged 18 or below, full-time undergraduate students and below, active-duty military personnel and their families, public security police officers, martyrs and military survivors, and firefighters and rescue personnel, etc., with valid IDs.

　　Free Ticket Policy

　　Each adult ticket holder can bring one person free of charge

　　Each adult ticket holder can bring one child under 1.3 meters in height for free.

　　Address of the exhibition

　　World Expo Museum

　　(818 Mengzi Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai)

　　Metro Line 13 Expo Museum Station Exit 2

　　Warning Sign

　　- Ticket code must be presented at the exhibition site to enter the exhibition hall.

　　(The actual admission procedure is subject to the on-site guidelines).

　　- Please do not bring food, water or beverages into the exhibition.

　　- During peak hours, in order to protect your safety and viewing experience, the exhibition halls will take measures to limit the flow of visitors.

　　To ensure your safety and viewing experience, we will take measures to limit the flow of visitors.

　　Please follow the guidance of on-site staff.

　　- No unauthorized commercial photography is permitted in the exhibition halls.