Yang Liping (; born 10 November 1958) is a Chinese dancer and choreographer of Bai ethnicity. She rose to fame for choreographing and performing "The spirit of Peacock" in 1986. She was the first dancer from Mainland China that went to Taiwan to perform in 1992. She is known across China for her creativity and her performance of the Dai peacock dance. Yang has been dubbed as the "Peacock Princess of China". She has performed over 1000 shows and toured to over 30 countries and regions, including The Philippines, Singapore, Russia, US, Canada, Taiwan, Japan and Australia. Early life and family Yang was born 10 November 1958 in Wen Qiang village, Cibihu town, Dali city, Yunnan province. She is the eldest of four children. Her parents and grandparents, members of the Bai ethnic minority, were farmers in a nearby village. Her grandmother was a singer in the village. She was born during the Great Chinese Famine and lived a hard life. She moved to Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture with her family when she was nine. Fearful of persecution in Cultural Revolution, Yang's father left his family. 11-year-old Yang and her mother supported the whole family. Career Yang began her formal dance training at the late age of 11 at a dance troupe in the Xishuangbanna area of Yunnan, after her family moved to the area. In the Southern flatland of Yunnan, Xishuangbanna borders the country of Burma and is dominated by the Dai ethnic group, whose Peacock dance she would become synonymous with. In 1971, she took on the role of "Peacock Princess" in the Xishuangbanna Song and Dance Troupe's narrative dance drama Zhaoshuzhun yu nanmunuona. In her early 20s, after she moved to Beijing to dance with the Central Nationalities Song and Dance Ensemble, she made the Daomeilan's version of the peacock dance her own, recasting parts of it with deft arm and finger movements. In 1986, that choreography and dance won her first prize in a national competition. She rose to national level fame in 1986 when she won first prize in a national dance competition for her original solo "Spirit of the Peacock" (雀之灵). Ever since, she has been dubbed the "Peacock Princess". She was the director, choreographer and star of "Dynamic Yunnan", a show that drew sellout crowds all over China. In 2004, "Dynamic Yunnan" won five major awards at the National Lotus Awards, including Gold