The Legendary Ann Woo 胡琼君（1942-2017)

The Engineer Who Made Chinese Art Soar Across the Pacific

—An Interview with Hu Qiongjun(Ann Woo), Director of the "Chinese Performing Arts of America " - Translated from Chinese

In the bustling commercial district of Cupertino, the wealthiest city in Silicon Valley, we finally met the renowned director of the "CPAA-Chinese Performing Arts of America " Hu Qiongjun. This elder sister, with nearly 30 years of artistic leadership, resembles the petite and delicate Teresa Teng. Though she lacks the physique of a ballet dancer, her passion for art has never wavered, and she has never abandoned her dream of pursuing it. From an electronics engineer to the director of the now-famous Chinese Performing Arts of America and CPAA Art Center in the U.S., her journey has been arduous. She has trained thousands of art students and staged hundreds of performances. Today, CPAA has become the largest, most influential, and widely recognized Chinese art organization in California.

A Struggling Immigrant Family: Engineering Graduate Who Couldn’t Find a Job

In the early 1960s, 14-year-old Hu Qiongjun moved to the U.S. with her parents. Her parents were frail and spoke no English, leaving the family to survive on just over $100 a month. Struggling with the language, her first days in school felt like listening to gibberish. Without fixed seating, she often lost track of her backpack after switching classrooms. On her first day, she even got lost on her way home. Those early school days were painted in shades of gray, with tears a common occurrence. Yet, she was naturally intelligent and highly diligent, excelling especially in math and science—her math scores consistently ranked first.

Through relentless effort, she was admitted to the prestigious UC Berkeley, majoring in electrical engineering. At the time, the department had no female students—she was the only woman who ventured into this "male-dominated world." The engineering building lacked even a women’s restroom, and her graduation advisor couldn’t understand why a woman would choose this field. Troubles persisted after graduation—she couldn’t find a job. She briefly worked for the state government but was dismissed for not being a U.S. citizen. A relative then found her a drafting job paying $2.50 an hour—less than what a babysitter earned. Eventually, she secured a $500-a-month job in Oakland, though it was still menial work, requiring daily commutes across the San Francisco Bridge. Yet, she refused to accept defeat, adamant that women could succeed in engineering. After two years of perseverance, she was finally promoted to engineer—her first major life turning point.

A Love for Art and China: CPAA Bridges Cross-Strait Divides

In the 1970s, Hu Qiongjun began dedicating herself to charity work. In her spare time, she actively participated in Chinese dance troupes, performing in community events. Though rehearsals sometimes lasted all night, she never felt tired, finding joy in every moment. In 1972, when the Chinese ping pong team and martial arts delegation visited the U.S., followed by a successful Chinese cultural relics exhibition, these landmark events profoundly impacted American perceptions of China. The Chinese dance troupe she belonged to played a crucial role, offering warm support and familial hospitality through performances. Proud of China’s rising strength, she realized that art groups could also serve diplomacy—planting the seed for her own future troupe.

By the 1990s, after a decade as director of a San Francisco Chinese dance troupe, Hu finally founded her own "Chinese Performing Arts of America ." Comprising elite dancers from mainland China, the group debuted fresh, innovative performances each year, quickly gaining popularity. They even rented venues in the South Bay, where Taiwanese communities were concentrated, selling out every show. Audiences who had never seen mainland performances began to thaw cross-strait misunderstandings, breaking down barriers. Hu Qiongjun and her CPAA became envoys of Sino-U.S. cultural exchange and pioneers in bridging Taiwan-China relations. At the time, they were the only Chinese art group bold enough to self-fund cross-strait cultural exchanges—Hu devoted her youth entirely to this mission.

Today, under Hu Qiongjun’s leadership and the collective efforts of her team, CPAA continues to reinvent itself. It now boasts its own art center, drawing wisdom from knowledge, where artistic lives are showcased, interpreted, and elevated.

As the interview concluded, Hu showed us stacks of magazines and newspapers—all featuring extensive coverage of the CPAA.One report stood out, offering a glimpse into history:

On June 20, 2004, Peng Keyu, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in San Francisco, and his wife attended the opening ceremony of the CPAA Arts Center in Cupertino. In his speech, Consul General Peng congratulated the center’s launch, praising the group’s dedication to promoting Chinese culture since its founding in 1991 and encouraging further contributions to Sino-U.S. cultural exchange. U.S. Congressman Mike Honda, California State Senate President Pro Tem Leland Yee, and Cupertino’s Vice Mayor also attended and delivered speeches.

(Reporters: Tang He, Li Hong, Ma Hongjie)

Excerpted from "60 Silicon Valley Women Classics," a 2009 commemorative publication by China Women Publishing House, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the PRC and 30 years of Sino-U.S. diplomatic relations.