Annie Ying (Jin Yutang), b. 1915 Wuxi, China, co-founder of Mahayana Buddhist Temple Association.

During the communist revolution, Ying and her family fled to Taiwan for 6 years where she dedicated herself to a local Buddhist community. Immigrating to NYC in 1955, Ying opened the Mahayana Buddhist Temple on Canal Street, a prominent yellow and red building at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge.

In the late 1960s, the Yings purchased 114 acres in Greene County for a Catskills campus which opened to the public in 1971. Today, the temple offers Dharma services, Chinese calligraphy classes, wedding rentals and more.

Mirror Recorder, September 12, 1973

2 Missionaries to Speak Here

Mr. and Mrs. Williams, graduates of the St. Paul Bible College in Minnesota…arrived in Taiwan in July, 1969, and learned the Chinese language in the Taipei Language Institute.

In 1971, they were given their first station assignment in the city of Taitung. Mr. Williams…directed strong programs of children’s evangelism. Mr. Williams also capitalized upon the strong interest among the Chinese people to learn the English language, teaching adult English Bible classes and a class in English for teachers in the Taitung middle school…He will speak at the Stamford church on Hobart road, Sept. 16 at 7:45 pm…The public is welcome.

New Century Films is a Falun Gong-affiliated non-profit movie studio in Huguenot, NY dedicated to “the core values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.” Since 2018, it has produced over 60 films and won over 180 awards (averaging 3 awards per film). Many of these films are Chinese-language shorts with tiles like “Annual Party,” “The Accident,” and “The Arrest II” streaming on YouTube.

The studio sits on the former site of New Hope Farms, built in 1986 by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon of Moonies fame for his children who went on to become Olympic equestrians.

Sample endorsements: “It’s a great work of art. The film was really really really well done…”

“I watched the film and it’s amazing.”

“As an actor, this movie was particularly moving for me.”

New Century Films is down the road from Dragon Springs, a 400-acre “Buddhist-style” campus for Shen Yun dancers and others. For NYC straphangers who recall the group’s notorious subway ads featuring flowery praise from celebrities and politicians, their website at https://www.thenewcenturyfilms.com/ will not disappoint.

Sample logline: Holiday Party 3 | Workplace bully runs amok; The new “assistant” becomes a “rival.”

Poughkeepsie’s Mid-Hudson Chinese Christian Church was founded in 1968 as a home Bible study group. Today it offers services in English and Mandarin in a permanent Wappingers Falls location.

The Chinese Christian Church of Greater Albany likewise started as an informal bible study group in 1969 on the SUNY Albany Campus. It became a member of the American Baptist Church in 1991 and holds English and Mandarin sermons. Excerpt from How to Prepare for Online Worship:

To prepare for worshiping online together, we offer the following thoughts:

1. Prepare your heart. Get everything set up a few minutes early so that you can prepare your heart to worship through expectant prayer.

2. Prepare the physical space: clear away any clutter or distractions.

3. Prepare your device: if you are joining the service on your computer, turn off notifications. If you are joining in on your mobile device, activate “do not disturb.” Don’t let a stray text message interrupt or take away from your worshiping the Lord with other brothers and sisters.

4. Worship is about engagement, not entertainment. Worship at home however you would worship at the physical church. Now is not the time to grab a favorite snack, or check your social media. Worship is not a spectator event, you are participating in worship!

Around 2007, Falun Gong built a 400-plus acre compound in Deerpark, NY called Dragon Springs that operates as a U.S. headquarters.

In 2024, New York State opened an investigation into the labor practices of Shen Yun, who trained many of its young dancers on the Dragon Springs campus.

The Epoch Times, a Falun Gong newspaper, also has a nearby office.