Adding Chinese context to ballet and creating new Chinese content remains the core mission of the Shanghai Ballet, Wu says.

Through the decades, Wu has played the male lead for almost all of the Shanghai Ballet's major productions, such as The White-Haired Girl, The Nutcracker, and The Phantom of the Opera, a large number of which were created by leading international choreographers.

One of the more important productions for Wu was A Sigh of Love, choreographed and directed by French artist Bertrand d'At (1957-2014).

The production was loosely based on the film In the Mood for Love by Hong Kong-based filmmaker Wong Kar-wai, with the story moved to Shanghai in the 1930s.