Retired teacher tries to revive fading folk art

TIANJIN - Sun Zhenhong has been trying to revive the fading folk art, known as la yang pian in Chinese, which involves a showman dramatizing stories using pictures inside a box while the audience sees the actions through a series of small holes.

It gained popularity in the northern cities of Beijing and Tianjin in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

"The shows left an indelible mark on my childhood memory," says Sun, 74, adding that they were popular in the olden days when people lacked other forms of entertainment.