Te Tieu puppetry flourished in 1956 and 1957 when local puppeteers often performed at festivals, making puppetry an indispensable cultural activity among people living along Day River in northern Vietnam (Photo: The Dai/Vietnam +)
Pham Cong Bang, the 9th son and also an heir of Mr. Be, follows in his father’s footstep to maintain his family’s traditional job (Photo: The Dai/Vietnam+)
In 2001, Bang and his father Pham Van Be built a stage for performance to serve local villagers as well as domestic and foreign tourists (Photo: The Dai/Vietnam +)
Bang said that his father, Pham Van Be, started the family job in 1957 when the traditional occupation’s reputation was at risk of ‘tarnish’ in his homeland (Photo: The Dai/Vietnam +)
In the following years, Mr. Be was determined to revive his job. In the 90s, Te Tieu was really revived after 25 years of interruption, opening a new stage of development (Photo: The Dai/Vietnam+)
Over the years, with nearly 100 shows and thousands of puppets, Te Tieu puppeteers have moved out of the village to major festivals, museums and tourism shows, winning both awards and love from domestic and foreign audiences (Photo: The Dai/Vietnam+)
VNA