Chinese shadow play in Hehuang region is a sort of puppet show, as well as one of the Chinese ancient dramas arts. The carving material for the silhouettes, namely the puppets, range from hard paper in the early stage, to buffalo or donkey leathers. All these carvings are worked out by the carving artists in Hehuang region. Puppets carved out of leathers are easier to be retained than that of paper. It is also thin and transparent, and becomes very lively and beautiful under the lantern light, is more exquisite than paper shadow. Shadow play in Hehuang region is of strong characteristics. In its long-term course of development, it has generated into various singings and numerous plays, is one of the folk art heritages in Hehuang region.

Prior to the liberation, Hehuang region had been suffered from the cultural poverty, backward production and inconvenient transportation, the dramas that people could watch, therefore, were mainly performed by the amateur troupes and shadow play teams. And the shadow play has become a key recreational activity in Hehuang region, playing an important part in the local seasonal festivals and folk customs. There are many festivals and traditional temple fairs in Hehuang region. And in every festival, temple fair and rural bazaar there holds traditional cultural and recreational activities. Such as horse racing contest, concerts and dramas, of which the shadow play is one necessity. An example is Ping'an County. Sometimes several troupes perform at the same time, with a huge crowd of excited audience. What a spectacular scene! Shadow play not only brightens the festivals and temple fairs, but also, on behalf of the local people performs as a way of worshiping the spirits for a harvest year, being blessed and anti-disaster. Originating from Shaanxi but with no detailed period to trace back, shadow play in Hehuang region mainly prevails in the eastern agricultural region, such as in Minhe, Ledu, Ping'an, Xi'ning, Datong, Huzhu, Huangzhong and Huangyuan. But shadow puppet carving can be traced back to a century ago. And the first generation of carving artist was said to be an unknown people surnamed Luo who by far had five generations of heirs. The late famous carving artists like Zhang Shenghua, Ma Fu, Wei Zhen, Gan Shilin and Qi Yongzhao have left over many carving treasures for the Hehuang people.

The shadow play mainly prevails in the rural areas of Hehuang region, and is performed by the amateur troupes who primarily live by farming and perform the shadow play in the slack farming seasons. There are several forms of the shadow play as follows: the villagers raise funds and invite other theatrical troupe to play, some person donates money for the play in the light of "expressing gratitude to spirits," as well as a wedding held in a better off family who will invite theatrical troupe to play. The theatrical troupe is mainly consisted of leaders who own shadow boxes. There are also some other forms like particularly being consisted of family members, officers or villagers, such troupes will invite the theatrical troupe to perform the plays. Another important reason for the prevailing of the shadow play in the rural areas of Hehuang region lies with its simple and convenient making, as well as on-the-spot and cheap materials. Apart from that, its performing is not subject to the stage, light and site. It can be performed in a large place like a plaza, as well as in a small place like a peasant's yard. A theatrical troupe is consisted of four to seven actors, each actor can play as the male, the female, the painted face and the clown. There are also a lamp, a piece of fabric for the sets, which two in the early stage were oil lamp and white paper. All the props can be carried by a donkey. In the slack farming seasons, the Hehuang people go on a performing tour through towns and villages on feet. They make up stories, perform them out and enjoy themselves. Shadow play is one of the main dramas in the local Hehuang region. It is of strong local "shadow tune," with over one hundred stories retained and of three forms. The first one is "biography play," also named as a set of complete play that can be performed in consecutive ten days to half month. The plays are mainly recomposed from historical dramas, such as "Heroic Legend of the Yang's Family," "The Romance of Three Kingdoms," "Canonization of the Gods" and "Journey to the West." The second form is single scenic play, also known as "Wowo play," mainly acting the folk tales and myths, such as "Story in the Garden," "Famen Temple" and "The Loyalty and Filial Piety Picture." The last form is the isolated scene, integrating the fine carving styles with the local "shadow tune" in Hehuang region, was sung with the local dialect. Audiences praise it for the vivid scenes that are not tacky at all. Well-known for its folk art full of villagers' affection and folk charm, the shadow play in Hehuang region has been deeply loved by the masses of Hehuang people.