Rod puppet show is a unique form of drama performance in Shaanxi, also known as "running on the stage". It reflects the local customs and folkways of Shaanxi, is an important part of folk cultural life, and has a strong local color. Its notable features are: the heads of the puppets are mostly carved from wood (later paper heads were added), and according to the characteristics of the characters in the play, the characters are exaggerated to make the characteristics of the characters more prominent and distinct. During the puppet show, the person manipulating the rod puppet dances and sings, or someone else sings behind the scenes. The main form of singing is Qinqiang singing. The roles can be divided into Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou. The music has civil and military scenes, and the tunes and board roads of the instruments used are the same as those of Qinqiang opera. Moreover, puppet shows can show many difficult actions that real people cannot perform on the stage of the big drama, such as "Sun Wukong"'s "flying on the clouds". Because the performance is convenient, the props are simple, and the content of the performance is easy to understand, the classes are widely distributed and the performance activities are wide. Puppet shows are performed at every sacrifice, festival and folk activities. The main reason is that they are small in number, inexpensive, small and simple, lively and affordable, entertaining both gods and people, and are very popular among the people. The singing of rod puppet art inherits the characteristics of Qinqiang, which is high-pitched, passionate, strong and rapid. Especially the singing of Hualian, which is moving and exaggerated. Its artistic style is unique, the division of roles is detailed, the puppet head carving is both realistic and spiritual, the performance is delicate, and the movements are vivid. Shaanxi rod puppets are generally about 3 feet tall and equipped with three operating rods, two of which move the hands and one controls the head and body performance. The most characteristic of the puppet is the "inner-rod puppet", which means the puppet with the hand stick inside the clothes. It is composed of a middle stick (a pine stick about 80 cm long, 3 cm in diameter, thick at the top and thin at the bottom, with a 20 cm long, 8 cm wide and 2 cm thick wooden board installed horizontally at the top 75 cm as a shoulder. There is a square hole in the center of the shoulder and a small round hole in front for the eyeliner and mouth line of the puppet head to pass through), hand sticks (two solid bamboos 75 cm long and about 1 cm in diameter, with the bamboo roots facing down, bent 30 degrees at 66 cm from the bamboo tip, and a wooden fist is installed on the top of each hand, one for the left and right hands. There is a round hole in the center for installing handles, props, etc.). The production of the puppet head: willow or poplar wood is selected to be carved into a head shape with a circumference of eight inches, and then fine glue clay and thin glue are applied to the outside of the puppet head, and the scars are filled, polished, and then painted according to the characteristics of the characters in the play. The main musical instruments include four-sided drum (i.e., report drum), dry drum, war drum, hall drum, big gong, small gong, big cymbal (also called jiaozi), small cymbal (also called fanzi), banhu, erhu, yangqin, douweng, cello, flute, suona, trumpet, etc. Representative plays: "Beheading Li Guang", "Beating the Town Governor" (also known as "Autumn River Moon"), "Beheading the Yellow Robe" (also known as "Beheading Zheng En", "Peach Blossom Palace"), "Zhou Ren Returns Home", etc. Shaanxi stick puppets are distributed throughout the province, especially in Guanzhong, where there are many troupes, as well as Yang County in Hanzhong, Danfeng County in Shangluo, and Luonan County. Famous puppet troupes during the Republic of China period included: Hu Caowa Qinqiang Puppet Troupe in Lantian County, Chengshun Troupe in Danfeng County, Hongxishe Puppet Troupe, Wang Mazi and his son Wang Lailai Puppet Troupe in Chang'an County, Jiangdong Puppet Troupe, Zhuyuan Puppet Troupe in Sang Town, Xingping County, Leyushe Puppet Troupe, Tianfu Township Puppet Troupe in Xingping County, Liu Zhongxi Puppet Troupe in Luonan County, etc. In the early days of the founding of New China, according to incomplete statistics, there were nearly 80 puppet troupes at that time. In the early 1950s, the People's Government assisted puppet artists to establish Chang'an Puppet Theater and Heping Puppet Theater. Chang'an Theater was changed to state-owned and renamed Shaanxi Puppet Art Troupe, and later renamed Shaanxi Folk Art Theater. In June 2011, Shaanxi's stick puppet show was selected into the third batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage list.