Have you ever wondered what an American high school is really like? A typical American high school has several large buildings and enough space for about 1, 500 students. Every student is given a locker (锁柜). When students first arrive at school, they go straight to their lockers to get their textbooks and to hang up their outdoor clothes.

Each day, students take six or seven classes. They must take science, math, English and social studies. They can choose art, homemaking, clothes making and other classes. In some schools, students are required to take one or more of the following special classes: health education, physical education or foreign language studies. Students move to different classrooms for each subject. This is because each teacher has their own classroom. There is a five-minute break between classes to give the students the time to hurry to their next class.

The school day usually ends early in the afternoon. After school, more than half of the students take part in after-school activities. These activities include sports-especially football, basketball, baseball and soccer or clubs, such as yearbook, speech, school newspaper, photography or student government.

During ancient times, children didn’t have much to enjoy themselves. What did they do for fun in their childhood? Let’s take a look!

Kicking shuttlecocks	Shuttlecock kicking appeared in the Han Dynasty. People used chicken feathers (羽毛) , coins and cotton cloth to make a shuttlecock. It was kicked in groups of three or four during walking or running.
Watching shadow plays	The closest thing to watching a film during the Tang and Song dynasties was going to watch a shadow play. Shadow puppets (木偶) were made from the leather (皮革) of donkeys. There was light behind a large white screen on the table, the player controlled puppets and told stories.
Playing diabolo	Diabolo was passed down to ordinary people during the Ming Dynasty. It was always made of bamboo and wood, and was hollow (空心的) in the center. By throwing and catching diabolo on ropes, the high-speed rotating (旋转) diabolo would make a sound.
Playing stone balls	During the Qing Dynasty, kicking a stone ball around was a popular sport in the northern part of China, and it was often played in winter to keep warm. Stones were carved (刻) into small balls and kicked along with feet.

With its special features (特征), shadow puppetry, an ancient form of storytelling that came from ancient China more than 2,000 years ago, still enjoys popularity today.

Just like many species (物种、种类) on Earth that are in danger, traditional arts also face the danger of disappearing. “Many young people still have the impression that shadow puppetry is some kind of old fashioned fork art,” said Liu Chaokan, the sixth-generation of shadow puppetry in Liujiazhai, Yunnan. Before deciding to carry the torch (火把、火炬) of Liujiazhai shadow puppetry, his family had operated it for more than two centuries, Liu was practising shooting as a student athlete (运动员) in college. Some couldn’t understand why he later chose to work on an “old and unattractive” art. Liu understands why some old art forms couldn’t be popular with the young, so he has decided to combine (结合) new stories with the traditional form of storytelling.

In a recent show “Journey to the West”, Baigujing (白骨精) dances to the Korean pop hit “Gangnam Style”. Popular Chinese cartoon characters, together with their modern characters, are Liu’s secret in attracting the attention of Children. “Since they couldn’t understand those old stories, why couldn’t we show them in shadow puppetry shows?” said Liu.

Short video sharing platforms like Tik Tok have also been Liu’s new tool to spread shadow puppetry. A short video of the show can easily get thousands of likes on the platform. To keep the old art forever young, Liu believes puppeteers should also respect its traditions. “You can not shake the roots of the art,” Liu said. “Keeping its traditions and searching for changes are also important.”