Born in Kunming in the Chinese province of Yunnan, she began playing the pipa at the age of six. Her first solo public performance was at the age of nine. In 1986, at age 11, she played for Queen Elizabeth II. Her studies at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music broadened her musical range and allowed her to study the guzheng. At the age of 22, Liu Fang immigrated to Canada and is now a Canadian citizen, currently residing in Montreal. The decision to move to Quebec allowed her virtuosic playing to reach a wider international audience. Since 1997, she has performed hundreds of solo concerts featuring Chinese traditional and classical music. Described in the media as the “empress of pipa,” Liu Fang never fails to impress.