THE BALLOON MAN

DPRK, Russian, Chinese performers top circus prize as festival ends in north China

Actresses from north China's Hebei provincial acrobatic troupe perform during the closing ceremony of the 13th Wuqiao International Acrobatics Art Festival of China in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, Oct. 30, 2011. More than 200 acrobats from 17 countries and regions attended the festival, which ended here on Sunday. (Xinhua/Yang Shiyao)
English.news.cn
2011-10-31
SHIJIAZHUANG, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Performers from the Democratic People' s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Russia and China won the top prize on circus as an international circus festival concluded Sunday in north China's Hebei Province.
The nine-day 13th China Wuqiao International Circus Festival (CWICF), was held in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang.
Flying Trapeze from the DPRK, Springboard from Russia, and Acrobatics on Monocycles from China were given the top prize "Golden Lion Award," with 15 others winning the "Silver Lion Award" and "Bronze Lion Award", said Bian Faji, president of the China Acrobatics Association and also chairman of the judging committee.
More than 30 performances from 17 countries and regions were staged during the festival, originated in 1987 and held every other year, according to Bian.
The CWICF, named after the birthplace of Chinese acrobatics -- Wuqiao County of Hebei, is considered one of the three most famed acrobatic competitions in the world along with the Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival in Monaco and the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain (the World Festival of the Circus of Tomorrow) in France.
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