Students from Laos, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Tanzania study various performing skills at the Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School. They will be ready for public performances upon their graduation in August. (Photo by Wang Jing/China Daily)
Now, the county not only trains acrobats but also functions as a platform for international exchanges.
Since its founding in 1987, the China Wuqiao International Circus Festival has staged over 600 performances with acrobats from more than 50 countries.
Also, the Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School, founded in 1985, has not only trained Chinese acrobats but more than 400 foreign students from developing countries as part of a cultural exchange program that was launched by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Commerce in 2002.
The foreign students usually start training at 8 am with exercises to build flexibility and practice basic skills of somersaulting and handstands.
Then, after a one-hour lunch break, the afternoon is devoted to practicing different circus acts.
By 5 pm, they complete a day of training.
In between, they also learn Chinese taught by teachers of Hebei University.
"After the whole day of training, I like eating hotpot and barbecue with my classmates," says Laotian student Yang.
"Some of the young girls cried a little when they began training here, but now we don't feel homesick anymore."
While the Chinese students have gone off for their winter vacations, the foreign students are at the school and, along with their Chinese teachers, will celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb 16 this year.
