Huang Li went to art school at the age of 13 to learn how to be a face-changing Sichuan Opera performer against the wishes of her parents. In their opinion, the prospects were grim in the ancient art - especially for a girl in an all-male tradition.
Now, after mastering 'face changing', her achievements have made her parents pound.
Bian lian - as face changing is known in Putonghua - is an important branch of traditional Sichuan Opera. It dates back to the Qing dynasty and involves performers rapidly peeling off masks and replacing them so quickly the audience barely notices the transition from one face to the next.
Like many traditional Chinese arts, the skills involved in face-changing only used to be passed on to men. But the Nanchong Song & Dance Troupe, a renowned Sichuan Opera group, has broken with tradition by bringing in female face-changing performers.
The troupe has performed for many Chinese leaders including Zhu De and Deng Xiaoping. It has also performed around the world in Holland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Vietnam.
Huang, Lin Chunbi and Sun Aiqing are among the most talented female face-changing artists in the troupe. They gave spectacular performances while visiting Hong Kong during the National Day holiday at Landmark North in Sheung Shui.
Huang says she fell in love with face-changing when she was a little girl and became determined to learn the art like a man.