A German artist performs at the China Quanzhou International Puppet Festival. [Photo by Guo Hongsong/China Daily]

It was a fiesta for puppets - those artful creatures that come to joyful life and overcome language barrier.

Last week, as a highlight of the 14th Asia Arts Festival, the 4th China Quanzhou International Puppet Festival took the stage at this port city of Fujian province, which is considered the country's biggest hub for this art form.

Marionettes first appeared in northern China more than 2,000 years ago. To escape war in the north, many artists moved to Quanzhou in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), and the art of puppetry began to grow in the port city.

During the recent festival, 16 troupes from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, plus nine troupes from abroad, presented 60 shows.

Quanzhou marionette was inscribed on the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006. It has been performed in more than 60 countries.

Wang Jingxian, head of the Quanzhou Marionette Troupe, considers the communicative art of Chinese marionette and Western-style puppetry to be complementary and similarly engaging.

"Chinese marionette is perhaps better in performance technique in details due to its long history, but Western marionette is easier to mix in different art forms and have wide themes. Their creative spirits greatly inspire us," says Wang.

For example, Hector Lopez, a Brazilian puppeteer, got a lot of attention at the festival for using recycled garbage to create his marionettes, to promote energy-saving themes.

"What makes a style survive is that it has to own unique characteristics," Wang says. "Communication between different styles may nurture new forms, which is always welcome. But that never means one has to strictly learn from another. The copy will never surpass the original."

Wang cites Taiwan's hand puppetry, which originates from Fujian, as a successful example. Hand puppetry in Taiwan has less traditional elements than that in Fujian, but the region's earlier opening-up to Western modern art allowed it to embrace more influences from overseas, nurturing its rare features.