A deadly balancing act

One of the acrobats who performed in the new show is Wang Siqi, who went through rigorous training every day during the past 10 months. He had to hang upside down for two hours each day and repeated the process of falling down from the air and climbing up to the pole over and over again, Zhu says.

"The audiences are also quite different nowadays. They not only want to see stunning acrobatic skills but also hope to watch a show which is beautifully choreographed and narrated with stories," Zhu says.

Acrobatic show, Zhongfan (Flagpole Act), by the Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School and Cangzhou Acrobatics Troupe, was also recognized as one of the top 10 best shows during the 11th China Acrobatics Golden Chrysanthemum Awards.

Wuqiao county, Hebei province, is considered to be the birthplace of Chinese acrobatics.

The show centers on zhongfan, or flagpole balancing, one of the oldest acrobatics skills in China. Male acrobats, usually about 25, display their skills by lifting, throwing and balancing bamboo pillars, which are more than 10 meters tall and each weighing about 50 kilograms, using their hands, backs, jaws and foreheads. The pillars carry huge flags decorated with patterns of clouds and dragons, which wave in the air as acrobats perform their movements.

According to the show's director Gu Liangliang, the acrobatic technique zhongfan originated in ancient China's Tang and Song dynasties (618-1279) and was commonly seen in temple fairs as a major entertainment.

"We've choreographed more than 10 new movements in the show and the acrobats had to practice very hard to master the new movements since each time they move with the pillar, it takes strength and balance," says Gu.