Wuqiao County - the home of Chinese acrobatics

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Many provinces in China have acrobatic schools and troupes. But none are more famous than those from Wuqiao county in Hebei province near Beijing, with a history extending back 2,000 years to the Qin and Han dynasties.

Wuqiao County is often called the "home of Chinese acrobatics"; It's said that China has the best acrobats in the world and that Wuqiao has the best acrobats in China.

There is a saying in China that in Wuqiao even one-year-old children and 90-year-olds can do some acrobatics.

Wuqiao has about 100 circus troupes and 44 acrobatic training schools.

The Wuqiao acrobats perform at a level of technical brilliance beyond what can be seen at Cirque du Soleil and other acrobatic performances in North America.

Chinese acrobatics is characterized by feats of balance and strength, featuring physical contortion, juggling, pole climbing, lion dancing, chair stacking, hoop diving and other tumbling feats.


Find more info here:


Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuqiao_County

Chinese web site in English: http://en.wuqiaoren.com/

Check out some photos from the Wuqiao County: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/wuqiao/show/