Chongqing — What does an ancient Chinese building look like when brought to life through dance?

Dongliang (The Pillar), a dance drama directed by Han Zhen and Zhou Liya, explores that question by turning the beams, joints and lines of traditional Chinese architecture into movement on stage. The production will be performed at Chongqing's Shi Guangnan Grand Theatre on November 13 and 14, 2026, as part of a national tour covering nearly 20 cities.

The work draws on the life of Lin Huiyin, a pioneering Chinese architect who helped document historic buildings at a time when much of the country's architectural heritage remained little studied. It also connects to a wider effort to understand and preserve China's ancient structures—a history linked to Chongqing, where members of the Society for Research in Chinese Architecture surveyed historic sites in what is now Dazu District in 1940.

Through dance, lighting and stage design, Dongliang brings this history to a new audience, exploring how the knowledge embodied in old buildings can be carried forward.

Dance drama Dongliang (The Pillar) will be performed at Chongqing's Shi Guangnan Grand Theatre on November 13 and 14, 2026. (Photo: Shi Guangnan Grand Theatre)

Turning Architecture into Dance

Rather than telling Lin's life story as a conventional biography, Dongliang uses architecture as a way to explore her experiences and the work of her generation. The production unfolds in six sections named after parts of a traditional Chinese timber frame, including the window, platform base, bracket set, eave, sparrow brace and ridge.

The directors do not simply recreate buildings on stage. Instead, they draw on the lines, structures and relationships that hold them together. Dancers form shapes resembling wooden frames, while movements of supporting, lifting and connecting echo the way traditional Chinese buildings are assembled.

Dance drama Dongliang (The Pillar) will be performed at Chongqing's Shi Guangnan Grand Theatre on November 13 and 14, 2026. (Photo: Shi Guangnan Grand Theatre)

One key idea behind the production is the mortise-and-tenon joint, a traditional woodworking technique in which shaped wooden pieces fit together to form a strong connection. On stage, relationships between dancers reflect this principle: each individual contributes to a larger structure, just as each wooden component supports a building.

The result is an artistic interpretation of architecture through the human body, allowing audiences to experience its structure and balance through movement rather than technical drawings or physical models.

Lin Huiyin and the Search for China's Architectural Heritage

Lin Huiyin is often remembered as a poet, but her work as an architect and architectural historian was equally significant. Her career unfolded at a time when women faced considerable barriers to studying architecture and when many historic Chinese buildings had yet to be systematically documented.

In 1924, Lin entered the University of Pennsylvania, where women could not earn degrees from the architecture program. She studied fine arts while taking architecture courses, building the knowledge that would later inform her work in China. In 2024, a century after she began her studies, the university awarded her a posthumous bachelor's degree in architecture.

Lin later worked alongside her husband, architect Liang Sicheng, and other researchers to investigate historic buildings across China. One of their most significant achievements was documenting the East Hall of Foguang Temple on Mount Wutai in Shanxi Province, a surviving wooden structure dating to the Tang Dynasty (618–907).

Their work helped establish the building's importance in the study of early Chinese architecture, providing valuable evidence of construction techniques and architectural traditions that had survived for more than a thousand years.

For Lin and her colleagues, surveying old buildings meant more than recording their appearance. It preserved historical knowledge before it disappeared.

A Historical Connection to Chongqing

Chongqing also has a place in this history. In 1940, members of the Society for Research in Chinese Architecture traveled through southwest China to investigate historic structures. Their journey included what is now Dazu District, known for its remarkable collection of Buddhist rock carvings and other historic remains.

The connection gives the production a local dimension beyond its Chongqing performances. The city is not only a stop on the national tour; it is also linked to the broader story of how researchers documented China's cultural heritage during a turbulent period in the country's history.

More than 80 years later, Dongliang revisits that work's spirit through a different artistic form. Where researchers once measured, photographed and recorded historic buildings, dancers now use movement and space to interpret the structures and ideas behind them.

The production also reflects a larger question: how can the knowledge and craftsmanship preserved in historic buildings be passed on to people who may never have studied architecture?

From an Outward Journey to an Inner Landscape

Director Zhou Liya describes the creative starting point as a connection between Lin's professional work and her personal experiences.

"For Lin Huiyin, to survey was to draw the map of her own life," Zhou says.

The first half of the production moves through Lin's studies, fieldwork and years with the research society at a relatively brisk pace. As the story progresses, war, displacement, illness and personal loss enter the picture, and the rhythm gradually slows. The focus shifts from her outward journey across China to the inner world shaped by her experiences.

Dancer Hua Xiaoyi portrays Lin, bringing the architect's personal story into a production that combines historical research with contemporary stage expression.

The directors are known for works including The Eternal Wave, A Tapestry of a Legendary Land and Wing Chun. In Dongliang, they turn their attention to the relationship between architecture, people and cultural memory, using dance to explore how individual lives can contribute to a much larger historical legacy.

A building stands through the strength of its structure. A cultural tradition survives when people continue to study, protect and pass it on. In Dongliang, the pillar becomes both a physical element of architecture and a metaphor for the people who helped preserve China's architectural heritage.

For audiences in Chongqing, the performances offer an opportunity to encounter this history through dance — and to consider how the past continues to shape the present.

Performance Information

• Performance: Dongliang (The Pillar)

• Dates: November 13–14, 2026

• Time: 7:30 p.m.

• Venue: Chongqing Shi Guangnan Grand Theatre

• Running time: Approximately 120 minutes, including a 15-minute interval

• Directors: Han Zhen and Zhou Liya

• Tour: A national tour covering nearly 20 cities