Quanzhou City in Fujian Province is noted for its marionettes. Four puppeteers manipulate the figures, each of which can have up to 30 strings. Two international puppet festivals were held in Quanzhou in 1986 and 1990, respectively, in which over 300 artists from all over the world participated, including those from Britain, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, Holland, Japan and the Philippines.

Quanzhou is to host the International Puppet Festival February 2002.