China's Hometown of Acrobatics Cangzhou Wins Applause From Professionals
CANGZHOU, China, March 17, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Two acrobatic masterpieces from Cangzhou, Hebei Province, won applause from professionals by having entered the final list of 50 acrobatic and magic programs on the 11th China Acrobatic Exhibition, which opened on March 14 in Shandong Province, according to the Cangzhou Municipal Government.
"Long Yue Shen zhou - A flagpole balancing performance" is a traditional acrobatic event in Cangzhou. To make conventional acrobatic performances adopt vitality, Cangzhou Acrobatic Troupe and Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School fused Beijing Opera, classical dance, and martial arts into the performance.
The show, which once performed at the 2023 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, presented astonishing skills. "It is just full of surprise, danger, wonder, and beauty," said one of the audience.
"Jianghu" tells the story of the arduous development of Cangzhou acrobatics through rich art forms and fills the blank of a large-scale acrobatic arena in North China.
Cangzhou is a world-famous acrobatic hometown located in the southeast of Hebei Province and is one of China's earliest birthplaces of acrobatic culture. Acrobatics in Cangzhou can go back to the Spring and Autumn Periods and developed from Jiao'di Opera. Artists performed acrobatics in significant cities like Beijing, Tianjin, and Nanjing during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
In 2004, Cangzhou was officially awarded the title "Hometown of Acrobatics in China" by the former Ministry of Culture. In 2006, Cangzhou Acrobatics was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council. In 2009, Cangzhou was listed as the first batch of experimental areas for cultural and ecological protection in Hebei Province.
For 36 years, the China Wuqiao International Acrobatic Art Festival, one of the world's three major acrobatic art festivals, has been successfully held for 18 sessions. Wuqiao Acrobatic World is the pioneering acrobatic theme park in China.
Nine out of China's ten top acrobatic artists come from Cangzhou, says the website of Cangzhou municipal government, explaining that since 2002, Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School has trained 19 batches of more than 500 international acrobatic students from 24 countries and regions, making outstanding contributions to the cultural communication of "the belt and road initiative." Cangzhou has earned the reputation as "the cradle of world acrobatic art."
From martial arts and acrobatics to folk art and dance, each attractive intangible art form involves the production, life, leisure, and entertainment of the people in Cangzhou.
There are more than 700 intangible cultural heritages in Cangzhou, including 19 at the national level and 124 at the provincial level, all of which are precious wealth of Cangzhou culture.
About - Cangzhou Municipality is a prefecture-level city under Hebei Province in China.
Source: Cangzhou Municipal Government