Dragon Springs, also known as The Mountain, is a compound in Deerpark, New York, US that serves as the headquarters of the global Falun Gong religious movement and the Shen Yun performance arts troupe. Falun Gong founder and leader Li Hongzhi lives near the compound, as do hundreds of Falun Gong adherents. Members of Shen Yun live and rehearse in the compound, which also has an orphanage, schools and temples. The compound is registered as a church, Dragon Springs Buddhist. Location Dragon Springs is primarily in Deerpark, New York, near the hamlet of Cuddebackville, north of Port Jervis, in Orange County. It sits below the Shawangunk Mountains approximately two hours north of Manhattan. The surrounding communities have many Falun Gong followers. Sociologist and author Andrew Junker noted that in 2019, near Dragon Springs, in Middletown, was an office for the Falun Gong media extension The Epoch Times, which published a special local edition. Overview The compound has been a point of controversy among former residents, who have stated Li Hongzhi maintains tight control over daily life. Fei Tian College and Fei Tian Academy of the Arts Two schools operate in or around Falun Gong's Dragon Springs compound: Fei Tian College (), a private arts college; and a middle-high school, the Fei Tian Academy of Arts (). Fei Tian College "acts as a feeder for Shen Yun". Both the college and high school initially operated out of Dragon Springs before expanding into Middletown in 2017. According to the Times Herald-Record, "the two schools are independent entities but maintain a close relationship". According to the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities, the college offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in "classical Chinese dance and Bachelor's in Music Performance", student facilities include an on-site basketball court and a gym, and 2015 enrollment consisted of 127 students. Fei Tian College holds institutional accreditation from the New York State Board of Regents. Academic Yutian Wong referred to the college as "[Shen Yun]'s own degree-granting institution". The high school was first approved by the New York State Education Department for operation in 2007. As of 2012, it operated with 200 students. In 2012, the school became a point of contention with Deerpark officials after discovering its operations because "they were never told of a performing arts college and high school being run there". This led the Deerpark Planning Board to unanimously deny a six-month extension for