"We saw you on TV!"

That message was texted to Li Yunyun's phone over and over again on the evening of Feb 16 — Chinese New Year's Eve. The 34-year-old tai chi teacher had just appeared on China Central Television Spring Festival Gala, the most-watched television program in China.

Li's spotlight moment lasted just a few seconds, ending with her signature Xie Fei Shi (oblique flying posture), performed with a folding fan in her hand. But those seconds meant everything.

"Even if I had only one shot, I wanted to show the most authentic tai chi movement," Li told China Daily.

Standing on the Spring Festival Gala stage was not about personal fame, but an opportunity for more people to feel the charm of tai chi's traditional culture.

The move Li chose combines elements of Yang-style and Wu-style, two major schools that originated in her hometown of Handan, North China's Hebei province. To execute it, one foot firmly steps forward while the other pushes from behind. The upper body leans slightly but remains balanced. The arm extends like a wild goose spreading its wings, the fan opening in a straight, powerful line. "It's a movement that contains openness within closure, softness within strength," Li said. "That's the essence of tai chi — strength that doesn't show itself directly, but exists underneath.

Trick led to lifelong path

Li's journey to the gala stage began 27 years ago, at the age of 7. "I loved dancing when I was little," she said with a smile. "My father told me he was taking me to learn dance. It was a trick. Only after we arrived did I realize it was a martial arts school."

For the first two weeks, Li cried every day. The unfamiliar environment and harsh training were nothing like the graceful dance moves she had imagined. But gradually, something changed. Watching martial arts films like The Shaolin Temple, Li became drawn to the heroic spirit of martial artists. Flipping, practicing fistic techniques, rolling in the sandy training ground — the active child found herself immersed.

"Martial arts training is hard, but the sense of achievement afterward, the confidence that comes from within … that's something nothing else can give you," she said.

Over the years, Li trained in various styles — Xiaohongquan, Dahongquan, Qixingquan — as a child, and later Changquan, and weapons training at the city sports school. "These external styles emphasize speed, power and explosive movements; strength that explodes outward," she said.

Then came tai chi, and everything shifted.