Everyone in Wuqiao, be they an old man of 99, or a baby just learning to walk, can do some tricks." So the saying goes in Wuqiao.

Whenever people visit this hometown of Chinese acrobatics, they will not miss watching the original face of the traditional Chinese acrobatic culture and arts, in the homes of local acrobats.

Today's star acrobats are Liu Ruitang and his family.

When visitors walk into his small courtyard in Wuqiao, Liu quickly comes out to greet them, accompanied by his two granddaughters and Huang Wenjing, his student.

Liu, 80, wears a dark hat and traditional Chinese costume, as well as a pair of black-rimmed glasses, specially prepared for his performance and not actually containing any lenses.

Wasting no time on pleasantries, Huang, in his 30s, is always the first member of the family to show off his acrobatic skills.

Huang excels at balancing, and it can be anything he lays his hands on in the kitchen, from beer bottles and bowls to shovels and ladles, as he magically balances and spins them one by one on a wooden stick held between his teeth.

Liu himself is a magician. His humorous performance of smoke conjuring tricks is particularly enchanting. From time to time, he reveals some little secrets of his magic, but warns the spectators that they should not imitate his tricks as they are sometimes very dangerous.

Liu is still going strong despite being the oldest acrobat at the Wuqiao Acrobatic World. People can feel the calm heart of the old man who has experienced the vicissitudes of life.

Liu didn't start out as an acrobat, even though he was born in Wuqiao. When he was still a young boy, his father brought the family to settle in Shanghai.

When he was 12, Liu happened to see a group of acrobats from his home county of Wuqiao giving acrobatic and magic shows on the street. Their breakneck stunts and mysterious tricks intrigued him.

When he went back home, he told his father firmly that he would go and learn acrobatics. From that day on, he started his nearly 50 years of acrobatic life. He said he has left his footprint in most regions in China.

Liu spent the best years of his life in Shanghai as an acrobat in the Shanghai Great World. He said he performed best in programs like knives hoops diving, fire hoops diving, and variety shows.

"Our program of 12-person martial arts was extremely popular in Shanghai and it won fame for our acrobatic troupe," said Liu. When he reached his 60s, Liu decided to return to his hometown. "I felt I had no strength to perform acrobatics any more," Liu recalled.

But he did not part with his skill. After the Wuqiao Acrobatic World opened 10 years ago, the 70-year-old man became an actor there as well as a teacher. At that time, he had already turned to magic, which he had learnt in Shanghai but never performed before.

In his spare time, he would try creating new variety shows and making prop models.

Liu has a daughter and a son. In their childhood, he taught them the basic skills of acrobatics. "Like me, they love acrobatics," he said.

Most of good acrobats in Wuqiao step out of their hometown and become the key members of acrobatic troupes in other provinces. There are some 35 professional acrobatic troupes and many more itinerant troupes in the county where professional acrobats number some 4,000, according to the organizing committee of the circus festival.

Liu's children were once members of the Soldiers Acrobatic Troupe of the Guangzhou Military Area Command, but are now retired.

About 20 years ago, as he was alone in Wuqiao, Liu was happy to have the company of Huang Wenjing, then 13, who was sent by his parents to learn acrobatics from Liu. It has become customary for children loving acrobatics in other neighbouring counties to come to Wuqiao to learn the skills.

Huang lives in the nearby Suning County, and was pretty naughty in his childhood, Huang explained.

"Though not as famous as Wuqiao, our county has a lot of acrobats. I love watching their performance," said Huang, who is the only acrobat in his big family.

In fact, Liu considers Huang his favourite student, and takes him as his adopted son.

"Most of the acrobats and magicians here in the Acrobatic World are from Suning County," said Huang.

Children born in an acrobatic family are imperceptibly influenced by what they see and hear. Liu's two granddaughters and Huang's only daughter have also chosen to become acrobats.

"I really don't want my daughter to learn acrobatics," Huang said. "I hope she can learn more academic knowledge. But it seems that she loves acrobatics much more than her textbooks."

After his repeated persuasion failed, he finally gave in to his daughter's decision. Now the 13-year-old is already a formal acrobat in the Acrobatic World.

For Liu's two granddaughters, the old man could also do nothing to change their love for acrobatics. Now the two girls' foot juggling program has become the most striking one in the acrobatic yard.

Liu Na, 8, is practising the leg skill, raising one of her feet to her head while standing on the ground with the help of her 17-year-old cousin, with a brick placed on her lifted leg and a watch held in her left hand.

"It will last half an hour," said Liu Na. She is now studying in a local acrobatic school, and frequently, comes to her grandfather's yard to join the family show. "Practising the basic skills in the first year is really tiring, but now I've got used to it," she said.

The girls generally practise contortions, and later they will turn to other programs when they are 16 or 17, Huang said.

For Wuqiao people, acrobatics is a part of life.

(China Daily November 12, 2003)