Xuan Yun Zhou

Daoist Xuan Yun Zhou (born Zhou Hongliang) was born in a small village in Henan Province, central China. At the age of thirteen, he was sent by his parents to Mount Wudang, where he began studying Taiji, Kung Fu, and Qigong—disciplines that would later become central to his life's work and teaching.

He trained at the Martial Arts Academy of the Daoist Association at Zixiao Palace (Purple Cloud Palace), where he was initiated into the Wudang Longmen (Dragon Gate) lineage, becoming a 24th-generation successor. At seventeen, he underwent formal Daoist ordination and became a Daoist priest, devoting himself to the study of Daoist philosophy, spiritual cultivation, and religious practice.

Although many practitioners who study martial arts on Mount Wudang develop connections with the Daoist tradition, Xuan Yun Zhou's path was distinctive. He spent many years living and training full-time within the mountain's monasteries, immersed in the traditional monastic way of life, and completed the formal rites of Daoist ordination.

At nineteen, he embarked on a period of wandering throughout China, traveling across its mountains and rivers in search of accomplished masters and experienced Daoist practitioners. This journey deepened his understanding of Daoist philosophy and practice, while broadening his experience of China's diverse spiritual and martial arts traditions.

Through a series of fortunate circumstances, he eventually came to the United States in 2009, where he established the Daoist Gate Center in New Hampshire. Today, he continues to share the traditional teachings of Daoism, Taiji, Qigong, and internal martial arts, bringing these ancient traditions into dialogue with contemporary life.