Amazing images - thank you for sharing and for the context. The costumes are gorgeous but if I had to pick a favorite out of your set, it'd have to be the silhouette on red. Just stunning!

Here in the states, there's a touring show called Shen Yun. I've wanted to see it for a long time, but timing and finances haven't yet worked out. Some of the costumes and scenes that you shared remind me of what I've seen advertised for that show. I'm not familiar enough with it to know if they're also drawing on the Ti Chi influences - I'll be sure to look for that now.

Thank you for sharing these "visions" with us. This is one of the great services of a photographer.

Tai Chi, like so many other philosophic generations around the world, is a means for connection with the "Universe". What we see now are choreographs. Ballet based on traditions, so to speak. The one common thread that is ignored is that in each, the person is the "seed" of such visions. Art is the medium in which the "seed"-vision can be described. But, sadly, too many want to "straight-jacket" the expression into strongly regulated versions. My personal want, in the USA, is to have, no, to allow all children to develop their creative appreciation of Art into their adulthood.

Again, thank you for sharing.

Just to say, China has been built over many distinct cultures. quote]

This is soooo true. in fact, there are STILL many, many different cultures. And I know many of you may not agree with this, but the fact is if the Communist party were not here, it would have far less order. I am NOT a communist and don't plan to become one, but there is a high level of order here that would not be otherwise. Please, no political discussions about this. China has always been a place of rival factions and war. Many of the dynastic periods are even named after the wars, so stability has never really been good here. An example of what I am talking about is the fact that just on the money, there is a total of 6 different languages written on the bills. I have also placed a graphic that I drew in Photoshop at the end of this note to illustrate the Dynasties.

As far as the Chinese Opera goes, the Beijing Opera is by far the most known in the west, but here in China, there are others considered at least equally good and sometimes even better. The Kunshangiang (Quin-Shan-Gee-Ang) Opera for example, has a greater following here in China. These performances are considered cultural heritage and the government assists in their preservation. The people who perform in these shows are trained from childhood and must learn ancient Chinese in order to preform them correctly. It is a highly difficult art and the language used is so old in fact, it must be translated for the audience. And even though I don't understand a word of it, it is mesmerizing to me. I thoroughly enjoy it. It IS very, very different from the operas that westerners are accustomed to though.

Good Morning, everyone...

In China, Tai Chi is much different in consideration to what people in western countries consider it. In America for example, Tai Chi is nothing more than a kind of strange exercise, where people dress in funny, oriental clothes and practice "karate" moves in very slow motion. In China though, Tai Chi is much, much more. It is actually a philosophical paradigm and encompasses all aspects of ones' life. Everything from the food you eat, how you think and act toward others, how you treat and provide for your family, and of course, how you respect your body by taking care of it through exercise, meditation and general health care. It is actually quite interesting.

In China, there is also the "Mid-Autumn Festival", which the best way to describe it is that it is the Chinese version of "Thanksgiving". It is when the harvest is complete, and the people here are thankful for the abundance they have received over the past year. It's actual date, much like Thanksgiving, is never on a consistent date and is determined by the Buddhist calendar and falls on a full moon, typically at the very end of October or beginning of November. The most noted item during this time is the "Moon Cake", which is a delicious treat and if you have never had one, track them down and try one... they are excellent. During this week-long holiday, people in China travel enmass to visit family and loved ones. Some just travel to places they have never been. This was our situation this year, and we went to a place in between Suzhou (Sue-Joe), where we live and my wife's home of Jinghua (Ging-Wah), which is a 3 hour high speed rail trip from our home. The actual city we went to is called Wuyi (woo-yee) and is noted for having full scale replicas of many of the ancient palaces and towns in China. These are "back lots" and are used for movie making from productions within China and from all over the world. If you don't want to fight the crowds in Beijing, you can go to Wuyi and see perfect replicas of the "Purple Palace", which is a significant section of the Forbidden City. Since entertainment is such a big deal in this town, there are also some pretty spectacular shows and we went to one that was simply called the "Tai Chi Show". It went through all of the philosophy and stories related to Tai Chi and was really excellent. A first class production.

About the images... I shot all of these with a Nikon Z7 and a 70-200mm F2.8 EDIF Nikkor lens, using the provided adaptor that comes standard with the Z7. The ISO was 16,000 (yes, that's correct... 16,000) and an exposure of 1/250th @ F2.8. Post processed in Photoshop. Hope you enjoy and apologies for the length! :-)

My wife is a Chinese national and some of the stories she has told me would astound most Americans. China is a very different place now, but in some ways are going back to the more traditional Mao era way of thinking. More conservative in the ideology. It has effected China profoundly and in the past 6 or so months, a quarter of the foreign population in Shanghai has left (100,000 people). I am also searching for a teaching position outside of China right now, and have applied at several universities, mostly in the United States (I applied for my "dream job" at Syracuse University, and keeping my fingers crossed because according to their documentation, I am "highly/preferred" in my qualifications for the position.) Again, fingers crossed. ;-)

I think we are talking apples and oranges here. It is a fact that the Chinese refused to teach Tai Chi to westerners for many years. The first to break tradition was Bruce Lee, and some believe he was killed because of it. I won't speculate on it. Dr. Tao was very willing to teach Americans. However, no one knows how much he was willing to teach them, because American's did not have the capacity to learn. I studied in Seattle, but after I left the area, Dr. Tao switched to Ohio because he was very disappointed with the Seattle crowd. But the real masters, it is highly unlikely that anybody, except a few chosen, are ever going to know them. With the power of Tai Chi, it is not hard to understand why. It is not a matter of them being disrespectful, it is a matter of the students being disrespectful.