Beneath the bright theatre lights, four Tanzanian acrobats captivated the audience with breathtaking acts that seemed to defy gravity, building human pyramids atop planks balanced on rolling cylinders.
This performance was one of the highlights of the 20th China Wuqiao International Circus Festival.
Founded in 1987, the biennial festival is one of the world's three major acrobatic competitions, alongside the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo in Monaco and the World Circus Festival of Tomorrow in Paris.
Wuqiao County in north China's Hebei Province is renowned as the "cradle of Chinese acrobatics."
During the six-day festival running from last Sunday to Friday, outstanding performers from 19 countries and regions gathered in Wuqiao and presented 28 dazzling acts.
Since its establishment, the China Wuqiao International Circus Festival has been held in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang, due to a lack of adequate infrastructure in its home county.
