In western China, when the shadows still answer the light

XINING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- On a winter night in Xining, capital city of northwest China's Qinghai Province, a beam of light cuts through the cold, casting figures in red and green leather and flowing sleeves into sharp relief as gongs strike and a deliberate chant hangs over the street, holding time itself in suspended motion.

Behind the cloth, Zhou Banghui grips two bamboo rods, guiding the shadows with hands t