Shadow Play is known as the "living fossil" of traditional Chinese culture and is affectionately called as "local film" by Anren people. It is understood that Anren Shadow Play rises in the Qing Dynasty and is a folk activities for making a wish and vow and worshiping of Gods.

The performance equipment of Anren Shadow Play is simple and a burden can go the world. The performance scene is also simple that is with four tables into a stage, with a white curtain to surround three parties, with a bamboo or wood to support as the screen in the front and with a light lamp. When acting, the artists are behind the white curtain to operate of the shadow. The colorful vivid characters are vividly presented on the curtain. The image operation rod is set between the two fingers of main operator of the shadow while singing and acting. One person often plays several or even dozens of characters. The person responsible for percussion usually uses 5 or 7 instruments at the same time.

The characters and the scenery in the Shadow Play are made of leather, donkey skin or sheepskin. First infiltrate the leather into the tung oil to be transparent, and then form and coat with pigment. Each figure is divided into six parts of body, head and four limbs and then uses the wire or thick line to join together, so that it can move freely. The characteristic of Shadow Play includes the Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou. The bodies are only a dozen, but there is as many as hundreds of heads. The viewer can know the roles from the face fines of positive characters and negative characters when perform.

The content of Anren Shadow Play is mainly adapted from folk tales and old drama with education, warning and inspiration significance. But with the changes of the times and the older artists of Shadow Play left, under the impact of a variety of new forms of literature and art, the Shadow Play which is an ancient and magical traditional folk skill once prosperous in villages and has experienced thousands of years of prosperity, is declining and gradually fades out of the sight.

The teaching of Anren Shadow Play has no paper script and music scores and the artists depend on extraordinary memory and the oral teaching of masters. The production of Shadow Play is also a very professional carving craft work. Now the Shadow Play has been from prosperity to decline and no one is willing to learn this art.

It is gratifying that Anren Shadow Play attracts the attention of the city and county cultural departments. In 2008, Anren Shadow Play was included in the Chenzhou City intangible cultural heritage protection project. Anren County has introduced the relevant support policies and incentives to make the dying traditional folk culture to be inherited and protected.