The work aims to interview three main participants in the development process of shadow puppets industry, namely researchers, shadow workers and tourists, explore and recognize their cognitive differences and needs, and understand and balance the cognitive differences among the three, in order to provide a scientific basis for formulating reasonable and feasible development paths and policies to inherit Shaanxi shadow puppets, and achieve the effect of precise policy-making. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the three groups through the interview method. Guided by the idea of rooting theory, content coding and qualitative analysis of 90 interviews were completed with NVivo12 software as a research and analysis tool. The cognitive differences among the three can be categorized into four dimensions:developmental emotion, survival status, policy implications, and content concerns. There are significant differences in cognition and interest pursuit. The outcome contributions of researchers and artists could not be mutually beneficial, mutually supportive, and mismatched with the realization needs of tourists. The gap between the social attention and support received by the heir and the heritage group is large, and fails to bring into play the value of collective existence. Finally, based on the analysis results, a development path of "one guide and six dimensions" is constructed with the proposing that the perspective of the "activation" design can be developed around the basic production tools, equipment, facilities and cultural and creative products of shadow puppets, and that the future shadow puppet cognitive education is possible from experience to professionalization in the context of the national "double alleviation" education.