Dunhuang 敦煌
Immersive Art Performance
In 1943, Chan Shuhong left Montparnasse, Paris for Dunhuang China to found the National Institute of Dunhuang Art. The caves of Dunhuang are home to paintings and sculptures created over a span of more than 1000 years and 10 dynasties. (4th to 14th century) Since the founding of the institute, artists from all over China have pilgrimaged to Dunhuang to emulate ancient techniques and find inspiration from eyes of the past. Our performance sought to share the story of the Dunhuang Art Institute’s beginning and bring to life the artwork born of it.
Directed by: @yijiakinsingertheatre
Music Director: @lawrence_tome_ (@benkinsinger )
Pipa performer: Li Junxi
Performed at the Guangzhou Art Center
With students from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
#guangzhou #immersive #theater #thundergod #china
When he becomes the Thunder God, all the puppeteers can‘t hold back their cheers! 🙌🎭
Thunder has arrived. Lightning crashes. Rivers party! 🌊🎉
Absolute LEGEND energy. ⚡👑🔥
#thundergod #kingoftheriver #Lawrence tome #china
《“偶”聚敦煌》 Encountering Dunhuang
Immersive Art Museum Theatre
The legend of Dunhuang art began with a serendipitous inspiration. In 366 CE, a monk named Le Zun carved the first cave into the cliff face of the Mogao Caves. Legend has it that he saw a sudden golden light with the appearance of a thousand Buddhas, and thus decided to practice meditation there. That first strike from history’s chisel set in motion an artistic endeavor that would last for nearly 1,100 years, transforming Dunhuang from a solitary meditation site into a vast complex of cave art. For the last 100 years artists have pilgrimaged to Dunhuang to bring the visions of ancient eyes into modern paintings.
This Mother’s Day, Guangzhou People’s Art Center will come to life with puppetry, live music, and theatre by TCT and students of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
Directed by @yijiakinsingertheatre
Music Director: @lawrence_tome_
Special Pipa Music by: 李君熙 （Li Junxi）
#china #guangzhou #lawrencetome #dunhuang #puppet
JianTian Village 尖田村
JieXi Town 揭西镇
Guangdong Province广东省
We had the privilege of seeing the new year tradition of the Hakka people “Zha Laoye”
(Exploding the deity)
The main local deity: the Jade Emperor along with his guardians Qianliyan (Thousand-Mile Eye) and Shunfenger (Wind-Following Ear) are brought out of the temple on the third day of the New Year’s celebration to receive incense and offerings from the entire village.
The gods are very playful so on the evening of the sixth day of the New Year, the villagers treat them to a fun evening before they must return to the temple. They begin with a game of hide and seek. The statues are hidden on the mountain and the young men search for them.
Once found, the statues are brought back to the village square for Zha Laoye. Two huge bonfires are lit and the young men carry the statues on chairs, while others wield large bamboo poles loaded with firecrackers. The firecrackers are lit and explode around the deities. The louder and brighter the explosions, the more prosperous the new year will be.
This tradition is said to have originated from an ancient “Ju Wangye” (Holding of the Lord) and is believed to be from 500-600 years ago.
#china #guangdong #hakka #travel #chinesenewyear
It‘s the Year of the Horse! 🐴✨
A massive shoutout to cool “horses”from 1978, 1990, 2002, and 2014…..—this is your year to shine! 🥳
In Chinese culture, the horse symbolizes freedom, bravery, energy, and success. We even have many idioms about horses:
🐎 一马当先 “Yī Mǎ Dāng Xiān”— To take the lead like a charging horse (aka, being the main character).
🐎 马到成功 “Mǎ Dào Chéng Gōng”— To win instantly the moment the horse arrives (basically, immediate victory—no procrastination!).
🐎 信马由缰 “Xìn Mǎ Yóu Jiāng”— To ride with loose reins, letting the horse run freely wherever it pleases. It means living freely, following your heart, and embracing the journey without worry.
💕And here’s the kicker: the dog is the horse‘s ultimate match in Chinese zodiac love compatibility. 🐕➡️❤️🐴
If you don’t believe me, just check the twelve zodiac sculptures in Chinatown—it‘s carved right there! 😉
❤️So my dear husband @benkinsinger 🐎 and I 🐕 are literally a match made in fate!
Wishing everyone a joyful Spring Festival and a prosperous Year of the Horse! 🎉
May you and your loved ones ride freely, living life with courage, wisdom and endless romance🌅✨
#YearOfTheHorse
#springfestival
#lunarnewyear
#horseanddog
#kingoftheriver
Farthest Love Across Four Seas
At Midnight and the Dawn
Still Tilting with the Tide
Inward Outward
Rising Falling still I keep my Eyes
Ever on your Way
Though Ten-Thousand Miles Apart
I hold close to your heart
With every word you share
Love's Longest Distance
Will Always find its Way
Song:
Traveling of the Sea
By Ben Kinsinger
#love #lovestory #romance #china #horse #longdistance #kingoftheriver
A hundred lifetimes of striving bring two people to share a boat.
A thousand lifetimes of striving bring a couple to share a pillow in love.
— Collected Wise Sayings (1521-1644)
百世修来同船渡，千世修来共枕眠。——《增广贤文》
In the ancient Longmen Grottoes, where Buddha statues gaze down in eternal silence, the Yi River moved slowly, as if waiting for someone.
She escaped the palace in a red dress—the red of plum blossoms growing from stone cracks. In the cave, the first Buddha was carved. The monk said, “Place a lamp beneath the lotus throne, and the river will carry away your burdens.” She didn’t believe it, but had nothing left to believe in.
He was a musician from the West, traveling along the Silk Road, his zither engraved with the words “King of the River.” When asked where he came from, he said, “The beginning of spring.” When asked where he was going, he answered, “To where the strings break.”
Later, she wondered—what if she hadn’t turned back that day? But she did, and the string broke with the first note.
The Buddha on the stone wall lowered his gaze.
In that instant, the sound of the river faded, as if a thousand years had passed.
～～～～～～～～～
Love is a journey written in timeless eternity. 💫
Happy Valentine’s Day to the one who makes my heart sing for a thousand lifetimes @benkinsinger
#valentinesday
#longing
#lovers
#kingoftheriver
#crossculturallove
@sherrykinsingertheatre and I performed in Fang Suo: A bookstore and cultural hub in Guangzhou China.
We were sponsored by Exception.
Exception is a women’s clothing line most known for being worn by China’s First Lady: Peng Liyuan
They were skeptical at first when we asked to be dressed by them as the clothing is designed for women, but after I tried on a few pieces, they saw the flexibility of their garments.
It is a joy to stretch beyond expectations
It is a delight to dress up with my love @sherrykinsingertheatre
#fashion #chinesefashion #china #exception #fangsuo #guangzhou #exceptionfashion #travel #bookstore #fashionblogger
Between Time and Tides
Fang Suo Commune & Bookstore
November 25 2025
Celebrating 14 years as a cultural hub in Guangzhou, Fang Suo hosts a night of embodied poetry, music, art, and community.
Special guest @lawrence_tome_ will perform new original music as well as provide improvised accompaniment to embodied poetry readings by Fang Suo staff and GAFA students.
Directed by @sherrykinsingertheatre
Piano Sponsor: @steinwayandsons
Wardrobe Sponsor: Exception例外
#china #piano #pianomusic #poetry #bookstore #poetryreading #chinamusic #guangzhou #guangzhouchina🇨🇳 #fangsuo #steinway
11.18.25
普格县 PǔGé Xiàn
It is market day for the Yi People in PǔGé today. We have to leave our car to pass through the packed streets toward primary school. Everyone is preparing for the Yi people’s New Year Festival.
As soon as I enter the gate, I’m swarmed by children. It’s not often foreigners come this way. I pick up my guitar and begin playing. Sherry beats the drum as we parade through the mass of smiling Yi kids. Today’s workshop is with the primary school choir.
The children perform the songs they’ve prepared for the New Year Festival. Sherry and I are moved to tears. I begin the workshop improvising on the piano 3 parts for the children to sing. Then Sherry and one of the local teachers lead an improvised dance to my piano playing. After dancing, we give the children percussion instruments and ‘jam.’ I close the workshop exchanging song performances with one of the local music teachers.
After the Workshop we visited the home of an Yi girl from the art workshop. Pam and Sherry interviewed her about her life. The girl invited us to see her room in a bare-brick unfinished house that she had decorated with flowers and bright paintings.
廖冰兄 LiaoBingxiong Foundation
@pam_chien
📸: @bing.hao.yang
11.17.25
布拖县 BùTuō Town
Art Class Workshop
The Yi people are an ethnic minority in Sichuan Province. The girls in this culture seldom have their own voice. Just ten years ago it was not uncommon for them to marry at 14 or 15 years old. This new art class at their school gives visual language that students can use to express creativity and imagination as well as challenging areas in their lives where words fall short.
Our workshop hosted 30 girls. Through music and storytelling, we led the girls to see with their own ‘special sight’, encouraging a creative choice. We began running in the dark halls of the school, feeling the danger and mystery of a new adventure. Each girl drew an eye on a leaf and then with their ‘new sight’ composed and performed their own shadow play.
📸: @bing.hao.yang
Liao Bingxiong Foundation
#china #ngo #yipeople #artclass #dramaclass #shadowpuppets #musicclass
