Shen Yun Performing Arts played two sold-out performances at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts on March 28, 2026, drawing Chinese immigrants from mainland China, Hong Kong, and across the diaspora. Audience members described being deeply moved by the classical Chinese dance, the full live symphony orchestra blending Chinese and Western instruments, and the patented dynamic digital backdrops. Many said Shen Yun’s presentation of 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture and the spiritual principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance left them in tears. For several, it was the first time they had experienced authentic Chinese culture free from CCP distortion.
Recent immigrant Zhou Xi said the most striking elements were “the incredibly colorful dynamic backdrop and the grand live orchestra blending Chinese and Western instruments.” She singled out a short dance drama in which an elderly couple encounters an immortal and eats a celestial peach, restoring their youth. The simple story awakened childhood memories and reminded her of the purity of traditional values. “You don’t need anything complicated,” she said. “A simple story: be a good person, do good things, and don’t harbor ill will toward others.”
Xiang Qinfang called it “the greatest visual experience I’ve ever had. It embodies classical Chinese culture and perfectly expresses the spiritual traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.” Zou Wenjun said she was moved by the sight of a full Western audience applauding Chinese classical art. “So many people from other countries cheering for our performance made me incredibly happy,” she said.
A recent mainland immigrant surnamed Han, attending her first Shen Yun show, said three elements won her over. First, the live orchestra’s integration with the storyline pulled the audience into the emotional arc of each piece, making them tense or joyful along with the characters. Second, the seamless coordination between the digital backdrop and the dancers stunned the crowd. During “The Monkey King,” when a performer appeared to leap out of the screen and onto the stage, the audience gasped. She praised the precision required and the rehearsal effort behind the scenes. Third, the show used beloved traditional Chinese stories, including the legend of Zhu Yingtai (the heroine of the “Butterfly Lovers,” one of China’s most famous romantic tales), the Monkey King, and the Daoist immortal Zhang Guolao, to convey core Chinese moral principles: good is rewarded and evil is punished, kind deeds accumulate merit, and cause and effect govern human affairs. “When people carry faith in their hearts, they can live better and be true to themselves,” she said.
Xiao Laipeng, also attending Shen Yun for the first time, said he was astonished by the orchestral performance and the revival of traditional Chinese music. “Today was the first time I’ve ever experienced traditional Chinese culture up close. That was impossible back in China,” he said. “I didn’t even realize the music was performed live at first, and when I saw the orchestra, I was stunned. I never imagined our traditional music could reach this level. I’ll come back every year.”
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Former Hong Kong film and television actor Cheng King-kei, attending Shen Yun for the second time, described the performance as “so beautiful that human language cannot do it justice.” He marveled at the choreographic precision and the lightness with which dancers landed, reflecting years of rigorous training. Cheng said Shen Yun goes beyond dance; it touches the spirit, body, and soul, prompting audiences to reflect on the origins of life and reconnect with their deepest values. Before seeing Shen Yun, he said, he had never realized the depth and spiritual richness of traditional Chinese culture predating the Communist era. The experience made him want to learn more about the China that existed before communism.
Liao Cheng-hao, the deputy director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Toronto, Taiwan’s de facto consulate, praised Shen Yun’s fusion of traditional culture and advanced technology. “The choreographers and performers all have extraordinary depth. They combine traditional and modern techniques beautifully,” he said, highlighting an innovative retelling of the Monkey King story.
First-time attendee Wu Zhenyu said he had expected a mostly Chinese audience but was surprised by how many non-Chinese audience members had come to experience traditional Chinese culture. The international turnout made him feel proud and encouraged. Zhang Xianjia, seated next to a Canadian couple who praised the Shen Yun performance throughout, said their enthusiasm filled him with pride. He was particularly struck by the story of Zhang Guolao, the Daoist immortal who refused a prestigious court appointment because he had no attachment to fame or wealth. Zheng Xueming reflected that the performance revealed the depth and breadth of Chinese civilization.
These audience members agreed on a common point: Shen Yun uses extraordinary artistry to bring 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture back to the stage. Whether through flowing silk-sleeve dances, folk and ethnic choreography, or vivid dramatizations of ancient myths, the performances helped overseas Chinese reconnect with their cultural roots. The purity, beauty, and depth on display stood in sharp contrast to the rigid propaganda that passes for culture inside mainland China under CCP rule.
Chinese immigrants say truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance are the antidote to CCP-imposed fear
Shen Yun’s dance dramas convey the traditional Chinese values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and Chinese immigrants in the Toronto audience described this spiritual content as the most emotionally powerful part of the performance. Multiple audience members said these values represent the remedy China most urgently needs after decades of CCP rule.
Zhou Xi thanked Shen Yun for presenting a vision of China before communism contaminated it, a country defined by kindness rather than mutual suspicion. “I believe this show presents the kind of nation we were always meant to be, a place of truthfulness, compassion, and beauty,” she said. “Instead of the society we have now, where everyone lives in fear, everyone reports on each other, and people tear each other apart.”
Han singled out the final dance drama, in which a Falun Dafa practitioner extends compassion to vulnerable people and even to a suspected CCP agent. She called this spirit of returning virtue for harm the rarest quality in today’s China. “If everyone could show this kind of love and goodness, it would break through the chaos the CCP has created,” she said. The show reminds people that doing good and helping others will ultimately be repaid, and this can help Chinese citizens find a way out of the disorder the CCP has imposed on their society.
Yu Houqiang, the chairman of the China Democracy Party’s Canadian committee, has watched Shen Yun for three consecutive years. He made a pointed observation: the CCP manufactures fear to prevent people from helping and loving one another. In today’s China, when an elderly person collapses on the street, no one dares to help. The problem is fear, not a lack of compassion. “When kind people love and support each other, they become enemies of the Communist system. The Party must destroy that,” Yu said. He expressed his conviction that once the CCP collapses, the traditional Chinese virtues of kindness, truthfulness, and tolerance will return. These qualities “are written into human nature,” he said. “Right now they are simply suppressed by fear.”
Xiao Laipeng wept when the Creator appeared on stage. He said it confirmed his belief that human beings are on earth for a purpose and must live out the values of truthfulness, kindness, and beauty. “As human beings, we must learn from the divine and fully express truthfulness, compassion, and beauty, to make the world a better place,” he said. He praised the dance drama “Reaping What You Sow,” emphasizing that “good and evil will be repaid; it is only a matter of time.” People cannot pretend, he said. Heaven can distinguish genuine goodness from false virtue.
Lin Binqing was deeply impressed by the Shen Yun dance drama depicting the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, in which practitioners continue to show compassion and help one another even under persecution, and are ultimately rewarded with a miracle. “Maintaining your goodness in today’s society is difficult,” she said. “There are so many forces that can shake your heart and cause you to abandon your original values.”
Ren Yan said Shen Yun’s uplifting content left her powerfully moved. She wants to bring her children to see the performance and expose the next generation to its positive energy. “Our world lacks mutual tolerance and understanding,” she said. “We need to use our wisdom and courage to confront evil.”
Cheng King-kei said Shen Yun showed him that when people have freedom, they can unleash enormous potential. The CCP is the force that strips away freedom and imprisons human life. The show reminds audiences to respect human dignity and aspire to creative beauty, he said, because only then can people achieve true freedom and naturally choose to live virtuous lives.
Aileen Calverley, co-founder of Hong Kong Watch, a human rights advocacy organization, attends Shen Yun every year and brings friends and family. She was especially moved by the pieces addressing human rights persecution in China. “What makes Shen Yun special is that it is a performance, it is art,” she said. “Through dance and music, it delivers its message straight into people’s hearts.” The performance ensures that global audiences understand the persecution and repression still taking place in China under CCP rule.
Zheng Xueming said bluntly that the Chinese people today lack faith and worship money, and that this is the direct result of the CCP’s destruction of traditional culture during the Cultural Revolution, the decade-long campaign of ideological purging launched by Mao Zedong in 1966. “If people have faith, they will have a sense of reverence, and that reverence keeps them from doing terrible things,” he said. Zhang Xianjia thanked Falun Dafa practitioners for their efforts in showing the world the truthfulness, compassion, and beauty of Chinese civilization.
Audience members saw a common thread in the Shen Yun performance: the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are the essence of traditional Chinese culture and the most urgently needed remedy in today’s China. These values can break through fear, restore trust and mutual care among people, and return society to harmony.
Chinese audiences want Shen Yun to perform in mainland China once CCP rule ends
Chinese immigrants in the Toronto audience were clear-eyed about the pressures Shen Yun faces from the CCP. The Chinese Communist Party uses every available tool to disrupt Shen Yun performances, including bomb threats against theaters in Canada and around the world, precisely because it fears the spread of truth about its persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners and its destruction of traditional Chinese culture.
Xiang Qinfang said: “The CCP is afraid of the world’s people learning the truth and knowing about the atrocities it has committed. That is why it does everything in its power to obstruct Shen Yun.” Zou Wenjun agreed, saying the Falun Dafa community has used Shen Yun to open the eyes of people around the world to the CCP’s true nature.
Han pointed out that the CCP regime is so fragile it fears a musical performance and a simple message of kindness could help topple it. She said any regime that afraid of art cannot survive for long.
Yu Houqiang argued that the CCP’s sabotage only reveals its own stupidity and cannot stop Shen Yun from growing more popular worldwide. Cheng King-kei, who has personally experienced CCP transnational intimidation, said the bomb threats have the opposite of their intended effect: they inspire more people to show courage and support Shen Yun. “The more people who stand behind Shen Yun, the faster those dark threats dissolve in the face of collective resolve,” he said. He called on governments at all levels to protect Shen Yun’s ability to perform safely.
Despite CCP disruptions, Shen Yun’s artists continue their 20th anniversary global tour with unwavering determination. Liao praised the performers for “years of persistence, extraordinary resilience, and unyielding dedication to sharing traditional virtues. They deserve the highest respect.”
What these Chinese audience members expressed most fervently was the hope that Shen Yun will one day perform in mainland China. Zhou Xi said: “I know our compatriots on the mainland would love this show. I hope Shen Yun can perform in China soon. Overseas Chinese should also come see it. It is an extraordinary production.”
Xiang Qinfang and Zou Wenjun spoke in unison: “We hope Shen Yun can travel the world, and especially perform in China.” “The culture of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance needs to return to China.”
Xiao Laipeng said with emotion: “This is the traditional culture of the Chinese people, of the descendants of the Yellow Emperor. We hope that one day this performance will return to China and let all our people experience the beauty of their own heritage.”
Liu Haiyang expressed hope that the virtues of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance will be fully passed down across mainland China. Lin Binqing, Weng Zhu, Wu Zhenyu, Zhang Xianjia, and Zheng Xueming all voiced the same wish: let every person in China see this Shen Yun show, and let Chinese civilization flourish once again.
Calverley said she will continue bringing more friends to Shen Yun each year, hoping to spread its art and its message as widely as possible.
Shen Yun is more than a performing arts experience for overseas Chinese audiences. It is a source of belonging and shared identity. From the dazzling stage to the depth of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, to the unyielding spirit of Shen Yun artists performing under CCP threat, the show restores cultural confidence and reminds every Chinese audience member of the power of kindness, faith, and courage. Their shared call is clear: more overseas Chinese should walk into the theater, Shen Yun should return to China, and 5,000 years of divinely inspired civilization should once again illuminate the land of its birth.
