Traditional Spring Festival Scrolls

Chinese Acrobatic Show is very famous in the world, but do you know its cradleland? It is Wuqiao County near Beijing.

Located 300km away from Beijing, Wuqiao is a national famous county for the acrobatic achievements. It is also regarded as the supreme headquarters of the Chinese acrobatics. There are countless ties between lots of acrobats and Wuqiao County. Some of them are local Wuqiao people, while others learn acrobatic skills here. In the 1950s, Wuqiao was entitled "The Hometown of the Acrobatic Show" by premier Zhouenlai. And from 1987, 7 International Acrobatic Art Festivals have been held here, which made Wuqiao become world famous.

The history of the Wuqiao acrobatics can be traced to A.D.534- A.D.550 of the East Wei Dynasty. When the locals cleaned up their farmlands in 1958, an ancient tomb in Xiao Ma Chang Village, Wuqiao County was discovered. The murals inside the tomb described the acrobatic art vividly. And from the Wuqiao county annals, we know that the acrobatic art became prosperous in the Ming Dynasty. And it was said that the local people in ancient time were very poor because of the lean soil, the flood and the chaos of the war, so they performed the original simple acrobatics to make a living, and then the acrobatic show took root and blossomed among the populace. It is said that Fantun Village of Wuqiao County only has 300 families but more than 20 persons perform the acrobatic shows abroad and more than 50 persons are leading actors or coaches in some big acrobatic troupes. There are also more than 400 local peasants and students who can perform the acrobatic show for visitors.

Stilting groups parading along the street

If you are interested in visiting Wuqiao, 2 days are needed since the transfer may take you much time. Trains and buses are all available. If you take bus from Beijing, please go to the Zhaogongkou long-distance bus station, and the bus is available at about 09:00 am and the transfer may take you about 5 hours. The contact numbers are 010-6722 9491/ 6723 7328/ 8726 1234, you can reconfirm the timetable in advance. Once arrival at Wuqiao, you may take taxi to the Grand World of the Acrobatic Show to visit the performance. The entrance fee is CNY100.00 net per person. Besides this site, there are still other sites opened to visitors, including some temples and some buildings with special subjects for acrobatics.

If you want to visit the Fantun Village, you may charter a taxi to go there. Almost all of the villagers, from men to women, from old to young, can perform some acrobatics.

If you take train from Beijing to Wuqiao, we suggest you buy the tickets in advance. The train details are: K45 1145/1520 (the ticket charge is CNY52.00 for hard seat and CNY81.00 for soft seat) and also 1477 1228/1700 & 1461 1442/1920 (the ticket charge is CNY46.00 for hard seat and CNY75.00 for the soft seat).

On the second day's afternoon, you may take bus at the Wuqiao bus station to Hengshui city, the transfer may take you about 2 hours. The Sunshine Hotel is the best available hotel in Hengshui and you also can choose others if you like.

Wuqiao Acrobatic Show

In the third day's morning, please take a taxi to visit the Inside Painting Museum. Inside painting is a unique traditional artistic pattern, famous for the painting inside the glassware, crystal vessel, amber with using specially-made brush pen. The paintings can be with various themes, such as characters, flowers-and-birds, mountain-and-water, calligraphy, harvest. Among those, the snuff bottle of Hengshui is the most famous. After your visit, you may take a taxi to the Hengshui long-distance bus station to take bus to Wuqiang County to visit the New Year Pictures Museum. We suggest you consult the locals for the exact address of the bus station, or you may charter a taxi to Wuqiang County, the single way transfer may need one hour. The New Year Pictures is the traditional way to celebrate the Chinese lunar spring festival, especially in the countryside. One month before the Spring Festival, many shopmen and some peasants set up their stalls to sell these pictures with various topics and almost each family will buy a few sheets according to their interests and good wishes for the coming New Year. They will paste those pictures on their doors and walls inside the house, or even on the trees in the yard, to create a happy and auspicious atmosphere of the New Year. The New Year Pictures Museum displays its developing history, the different artistic patterns, technique and skills.

Once finishing your visit, you may go back to Hengshui City to catch train 1304 1651/2002 (the ticket charge is CNY37.00 for hard seat and CNY59.00 for soft seat) to Beijing, the latest one is 2073 1806/2123. We suggest you buy the tickets upon your arrival to guarantee its availability.