Master of the arts

Viral sensation carries on family legacy of imparting the wisdom, heritage and skills of Chinese martial traditions to a new generation, Wang Ru and Ma Jingna report in Lanzhou.

In 2021, a video which shows a woman wielding more than 20 traditional weapons one after another went viral online, providing a feast of Chinese martial arts for the viewer. The slender woman, dressed in black, wielded swords, broadswords, clubs, daggers and even heavy hammers quickly, skillfully and with vigor, just like a heroine in a martial arts novel.

Since then, Zhang Hanliang, who has practiced martial arts for more than two decades, has uploaded more videos of her using other traditional Chinese weapons, and continues to attract attention online. The number of followers she has on China's video platform Bilibili has, thus far, reached 1 million.

She was also invited to demonstrate her techniques at last year's Lantern Festival Gala broadcast by China Media Group, and this year's CMG online Spring Festival Gala.