Traditional art form rhymes with the times

They've created original kuaiban pieces about issues hoping to raise awareness among the general public, including the danger of drunken driving, the unlicensed plastic surgery industry and food safety.

They also write stories to pay tribute to people who make a contribution to society, such as traffic policemen, and Olympic medalists, like Su Yiming and Eileen Gu.

Now, besides their jobs with Tianjin People's Art Theater, they share short videos of kuaiban pieces online every day and they are working on bringing out longer kuaiban pieces.

"Folk art forms, like xiangsheng, pingshu and kuaiban, share something in common, that is, these oral art forms underlie values of traditional Chinese virtues. It appeals to people of all ages and from all walks of life," says Liu. "Hopefully, the new technologies, like social media platforms popular among young people, will help the old art form revive."