A view of Wuqiao Acrobatics World, an acrobatics themed park, in Wuqiao County, Hebei Province.

From September 28 to October 3, 2025, the 20th China Wuqiao Inte rnational Circus Festival was held in both Cangzhou's Wuqiao County and Shijiazhuang City, north China's Hebei Province. This marked the first time the festival's main events were held in Wuqiao, widely known as the "hometown of Chinese acrobatics." Not only did this edition carry forward the legacy of acrobatics' evolution from exploration to maturity, but it also served as an open platform for global cultural exchange, striving to create an international arts celebration that bridges China and the world while being accessible to all.

Progressive path of acrobatics

The roots of Wuqiao acrobatics lie in the millennia-old tradition of open-air street performances. Historical records note that a folk game called "Chiyou Play" — named after Chi You, a legendary tribal figure in Chinese mythology — was once popular in the ancient Jizhou region. Participants wore horned masks and engaged in contests of martial skill and strength, a practice considered one of the early forms of ancient Chinese acrobatics. Wuqiao was part of ancient Jizhou.

On October 25, 1987, the inaugural China Wuqiao International Circus Festival opened at the Hebei Gymnasium in Shijiazhuang. Twenty-seven performers from six countries, including Australia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and the former Soviet Union, joined 145 performers from 16 Chinese acrobatic troupes on stage, and tens of thousands of spectators witnessed this historic moment. Since then, the festival has been held biennially and grown into 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, France.

The third China Wuqiao International Circus Festival, held in 1991, featured 28 acts from countries including Belgium, Canada, Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, France, Mongolia, Sweden, the United States, and the former Soviet Union, as well as China's Hong Kong. The festival also marked the debut of several world-renowned circus troupes, such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from the United States and Cirque du Soleil from Canada.

The fourth edition of the festival, held in 1993, brought together 366 performers with 41 acts from 18 countries and regions across all five continents — Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. This edition achieved full continental representation and gathered leading acrobatic troupes from the world's major acrobatic powers to perform and compete in Hebei.