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In the spring of 2024, Chinese photographers Wenhao Zhou and Ruishen Hong traveled to Fuzhou on China's east coast to photograph the local Youshen processions.
Rooted in ancient folklore, myths, and beliefs, the Youshen tradition has evolved into a variety of ritual ceremonies and performance styles. On special occasions, Youshen participants don elaborate costumes resembling gods, deities, and other legendary figures, and celebrate with processions and festivities that can last from morning until night.
As outsiders, Wenhao Zhou and Ruishen Hong observed the ceremonies with an objective eye, documenting the fleeting moments when the world of the gods intersects with the human realm in photographs that capture their visual chaos, festive atmosphere, and otherworldly flair.

"Recalling my first night watching the Youshen, I walked along dim rural paths, following the sound of firecrackers towards the procession until the massive, slightly disproportionate deity figures waving their arms came into view. Accompanied by the thunderous drums and local folk songs sung in dialect, the air was filled with mist-like smoke and ash from fireworks. For someone like me who grew up in the city, the scene felt like something out of a dream."
― Ruishen Hong