TongHai GaoTai 2066

2025

Installation
Immersive VR Interactive Performance 2025

TongHai GaoTai 2066 is an immersive VR interactive performance that fuses Chinese intangible cultural heritage with advanced immersive technologies. Drawing from the traditional folk performance “GaoTai” (also known as TaiGe) from Tonghai, Yunnan—a ritual practice with over 400 years of history that continues to this day—the work reimagines and reconstructs this heritage within a speculative future.

Set in a virtual landscape in the year 2066, where a desert has swallowed the world, the audience is transported to a ceremonial street lined with robots, where a sacred “GaoTai” performance is unfolding.

The piece invites viewers to enter the same theatrical space from one of three perspectives: Human, Deity, or Machine. Through this triadic structure, the audience embarks on a philosophical journey exploring freedom, gaze, and existence. The Human is granted free-roaming visual access; the Deity is elevated upon the ceremonial platform, becoming the focal point of systemic surveillance; and the Machine is bound by strict algorithmic control—any deviation from its preprogrammed path triggers alarms and disciplinary response. This identity mechanism not only simulates the logic of power distribution in a technological society, but also interrogates the boundary between “free will” and “algorithmic destiny” in a posthuman era.

The inspiration for the work stems from the artist’s childhood memories of participating in the Tonghai GaoTai ritual— originally a community gesture of gratitude for new life, in which children are dressed as deities and paraded through the streets. In real life, only the “chosen” children could ascend the platform and become the center of collective gaze. In the virtual theatre of the future, however, every viewer may “choose” to become a god, or to embody the machine. This structural translation provokes a deeper reflection on the politics of meaning-making, the right to look, and the right to participate.

TongHai GaoTai 2066 is a cultural experiment that reinterprets local ritual into a futuristic theatre of life. Through interactive VR technology, it constructs a philosophical framework of viewing that questions how meaning, freedom, and belief might be redefined in the posthuman age.

The work ultimately poses a central question: In a world shaped by technology, do we still possess the agency to define the meaning of life?

Enter the Ritual

Welcome to a ritual performance spanning four centuries.Originating in the Ming and Qing dynasties in Tonghai, Yunnan,GaoTai is a folk tradition where children are dressed as deities and placed high upon ceremonial platforms—
a form of “opera in the air.”Now, you are transported to the year 2066,to witness a sacred ritual that has never ceased.In this world, memory is sacred. Vision is power.What you see, what you gaze upon, will shape who you become.Now, choose your form of witnessing: Human. Deity. Machine...

Human

You walk the ground with your own eyes. As a Human, you are granted the freedom to move, to observe, to choose your gaze.You wander through the ritual street, untethered. You are the traveler—the one who still sees.

Deity

You are elevated to the sacred platform. As a Deity, you become the center of the collective gaze.From above, you overlook the world in stillness—revered, exposed, unmovable.You are the symbol, the watched.

Machine

As a Machine, your movements are controlled. Any attempt to turn away from your assigned path will trigger system alarms, visual blackout, and disciplinary pause.You are the executor, the observed, the one without choice.

GaoTai 1

Xu Xian Borrows an Umbrella

This scene is adapted from the traditional Chinese opera The Legend of the White Snake, which tells the love story between Bai Suzhen, a white snake spirit who has cultivated for a thousand years, and a mortal man, Xu Xian. Disguised in human form, Bai Suzhen meets Xu Xian by West Lake during a sudden rainstorm and offers him her umbrella. This chance encounter sparks a deep affection between them. Despite many obstacles, they eventually marry, and their story becomes one of China's most beloved romantic legends.

While visiting West Lake with her companion Xiaoqing, a sudden rain begins to fall.

At the top stands Xiaoqing, alert and dynamic in her posture. Below, on the right, Bai Suzhen holds an umbrella with graceful composure; on the left, Xu Xian appears caught off guard, unprepared for the rain. Seeing this, Bai offers him her umbrella.

GaoTai 2

The Three Strikes on the White Bone Demon

This gaotai tableau is inspired by the “Three Strikes on the White Bone Demon” episode from Journey to the West. As Tang Monk travels westward, he passes through White Tiger Ridge, where a subtle battle between good and evil quietly unfolds. High in the clouds stands Sun Wukong, golden staff in hand and eyes sharp with fiery insight. He sees through the demon’s deception and strikes her down again and again. Dressed in white and holding a sword, the beautiful woman beneath him is none other than the demon in disguise—beneath her gentle appearance lies a soul-stealing malice. She hides among withered branches, attempting once more to approach Tang Monk. At the base stands his brother disciple Zhu Bajie, cloaked in black, hesitating. Faced with the demon’s illusion, he again misjudges Sun Wukong’s intentions—neither trusting nor discerning.

GaoTai 3

Mu Guiying Takes Command

This gaotai scene is based on the legendary story of The Generals of the Yang Family, depicting the moment when Mu Guiying bravely accepts command to defend the nation after others refuse to fight against Western Xia invaders. At the top, Mu Guiying stands tall in armor, holding a command flag—radiant and resolute, embodying the spirit of a fearless female general. Below on the left is She Taijun, her grandmother, with silver hair and a stern gaze—symbolizing the enduring strength and legacy of the Yang family. On the right stands Yang Wenguang, Mu’s young son, clad in armor, full of heroic spirit—representing the passing of loyalty and valor to the next generation. Three generations of loyalty and courage appear in one tableau—a powerful tribute to patriotism, familial honor, and the heroism of women in Chinese history.

GaoTai 4

Songs of Qilu Lake

By local folklore and the fishing culture of Qilu Lake in Tonghai, Yunnan. It celebrates the joyful harmony between humans and nature, as well as the deep emotional bond the people of Tonghai share with their lake. At the center is a striking image: a massive fish leaping skyward, carrying a small boat atop it. A child dressed in traditional fisherman attire stands on the boat—symbolizing good fortune and childhood joy.

The two vividly colored carp below evoke the legend of “carps leaping over the dragon gate,” a classic metaphor for success and vitality.Qilu Lake has long been the cultural heart of Tonghai and home to generations of fishing communities;Local folklore is rich with auspicious images like fish leaps and flying boats;The performance blends traditional costumes, fishing gear, boats, and mythological motifs, creating a playful yet reverent tribute to lakeside life.

GaoTai 5

Daiyu Burying the Fallen Flowers

This gaotai scene by Chapter 27 of Dream of the Red Chamber, featuring Lin Daiyu’s poignant poem Ode to the Fallen Flowers. As a guest in the Jia family household, Daiyu reflects on her fragile position, lost connections, and sorrowful fate. With each buried petal, she mourns both the flowers and her own fleeting youth. At the top stands Daiyu, dressed in pale robes among blooming peach blossoms—graceful, mournful, and poetic. On the lower left is Jia Baoyu in red, gazing toward her with unspoken affection. On the right sits Xiren in green, composed and gentle, embodying silent loyalty within the confines of the inner chambers.“Clouds of sorrow fill the sky”—her lament for a lonely life.“Who will share this dusk-born grief?”—a quiet cry for connection in a home not her own.This composition captures the dreamlike melancholy of a brilliant soul bound by fate, and a love forever suspended in longing.