Lung Ying (Southern Dragon)
龍形拳Southern Chinese Hakka style of Lam Yiu-gwai, related to Bak Mei. It rests on sixteen basic movements and is heritage of Canton and Nanhai district.
Quick Facts
ChinaCharacter & Origin
Training
Organisation & Competition
What the style is built from
Editorial rating on a 0–3 scale, based on how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
About Lung Ying (Southern Dragon)
Lung Ying, the dragon shape, is a southern Chinese style from the Hakka area of Huizhou in Guangdong province. The intangible heritage list of Nanhai district in Foshan derives it from the Shaolin nun Wumei, which is a tradition, and names as creator Lin Yaogui, in Cantonese Lam Yiu-gwai, who combined Shaolin teaching with Hakka fist styles. According to the City University of Hong Kong exhibition, Lam and Cheung Lai-chuen created the Lung Ying and Bak Mei styles in Canton in the 1930s. Lam served as bodyguard and instructor to Governor Chen Jitang and left for Hong Kong after his fall. The Nanhai list describes the style as guiding the form by intention, unity of attack and defence, and dragon-like movements in which hard and soft complement each other. Its basis is sixteen basic movements. Training progresses from hard strikes and blocks to controlled breathing and deflection. Lung Ying is not on the national intangible heritage list. Since 2019 it has been the heritage of Nanhai district, and the Huangpu branch since 2022 the heritage of the city of Canton. The style is practised today in Guangdong, Hong Kong and abroad, including in New York and Ireland.
History
Lung Ying is linked by Chinese local sources to the Hakka area of Huizhou in Guangdong province. According to the account reported by the newspaper Guangzhou Daily, the forerunner of the style came to Huizhou from southern Shaolin under the Daoguang Emperor (1821–1850). The list of intangible heritage of Nanhai district in Foshan derives the style from the Shaolin nun Wumei and names as its creator her third-generation disciple Lin Yaogui, in Cantonese Lam Yiu-gwai, who combined the teaching with Hakka fist styles. The origin from Wumei is a tradition. According to the City University of Hong Kong exhibition on Hakka kung fu, Lam Yiu-gwai and Cheung Lai-chuen created the Lung Ying and Bak Mei styles in the 1930s after moving from Huizhou to Canton. Lam worked as a bodyguard and martial arts instructor to the Guangdong military governor Chen Jitang, who ruled in 1926–1936. After his fall Lam moved with his descendants to Hong Kong, where according to English Wikipedia he died in 1966. Around 1970 the style was brought to Nanhai in Foshan by the student Ma Chai, who taught in a gym in Dali.
How it differs
Lung Ying is closest to the Bak Mei style. According to the City University of Hong Kong exhibition, both arose with the same Cantonese pair of teachers, Lam Yiu-gwai and Cheung Lai-chuen, and share many similarities. According to English Wikipedia, it differs from the crane styles in avoiding turning the upper or lower body in straight and zigzag stances, whereas the crane leaps with the whole body.
Technique
The Nanhai district intangible heritage list describes the style as guiding the form by intention, unity of attack and defence, dragon-like movements and a complement of hard and soft. Its basis is sixteen basic movements and a complete set of hands, body and stances, as presented by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in October 2026. According to English Wikipedia, the basic forms include Sixteen Movements, Triple Crossing of the Bridge, Tiger Leaps over the Wall and Eagle Claw, the advanced ones the plum blossom form. The style uses tiger-like strikes, claws, snake-like stance changes and a leopard strike with retreat.
Training
According to English Wikipedia, training moves from hard strikes and blocks, with correct stance after each movement, to controlled breathing. At the intermediate level deep exhalation during the technique and silent inhalation are added, and deflection replaces blocks. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University says training also has health and self-defence aspects and ties to Hakka and Hoklo culture.
Ranks and progression
We have not found belts or grades in the sources. English Wikipedia splits training into three levels, basic with hard strikes, intermediate with controlled breathing and advanced, where evasion and qi work are the key defence.
Today
Since 2019 Lung Ying has been on the intangible heritage list of Nanhai district in Foshan (6th batch). According to Guangzhou Daily, the Huangpu branch has been the heritage of Canton's Huangpu district since 2019 and of the city of Canton since 2022. In 2016 Huicheng district in Huizhou received 100,000 yuan from the Guangdong provincial fund to protect the style. Lung Ying is not on the national list. On 2 August 2026 the Huangpu association built a memorial stone on the development of the style at the Southern Shaolin temple in Putian. Outside China the style is taught, according to English Wikipedia, in New York since 1974 and in Ireland since 1998, among other places.
Did you know
According to the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Lam Yiu-gwai was nicknamed the Tiger of Dongjiang. His year of birth varies in the sources, with 1877 and 1887 given. According to English Wikipedia, Jackie Chan showed the style in the film Dragon Fist.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Lung Ying?
The Nanhai district intangible heritage list names as creator Lin Yaogui, in Cantonese Lam Yiu-gwai, who combined Shaolin teaching with Hakka fist styles. The origin from the nun Wumei is a tradition.
What is the difference between Lung Ying and Bak Mei?
According to the City University of Hong Kong exhibition, Lam Yiu-gwai and Cheung Lai-chuen created both styles in Canton in the 1930s, and they share many similarities. They are, however, two separate systems.
Is Lung Ying intangible heritage?
Yes, at the local level. Since 2019 it has been the heritage of Nanhai district in Foshan, and the Huangpu branch has been the heritage of the city of Canton since 2022. It is not on the national list.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.