Hua Dan was founded in 2004 through participatory theatre workshops held at the Migrant Women’s Club in downtown Beijing. Our first workshops explored issues that rural women experienced moving into Beijing and touched on marital relationships, family dynamics and challenges in the workplace. The workshops provided a way for women to share their stories, come together with others, and build the self-confidence, leadership and self-esteem necessary to take advantage of, and overcome the challenges of migration.

Later, we started training these women to use theatre with other women and children. Since our inception, we have trained ten women who have gone on to work with over 32,000 migrant workers across China. We are now expanding across China, as well as internationally through our sister organisation Scheherazade Initiatives.