Circus County

Speaking about the foreign students' progress, Ma Shumin, who has been teaching foreign students at Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School since 2012, says: "By the summer of 2018, they will be ready for public performances.

"Acrobatics is a form of art that demands hard work. Most of these foreign students started from zero but they work very hard."

Ma, who was born and grew up in Wuqiao, is the youngest child of her family and was sent to study acrobatics at age 10. Later, she joined an acrobat troupe in Wuqiao county and in 1995, she started teaching at the Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School.

"When I was a child, the training was very tough. I did handstands for at least 30 minutes and hundreds of somersaults each day," recalls Ma, 52.

"The training is much more scientific now. We design different programs for foreign students based on their physical condition and their interests.

"Acrobats depend on the art form to make a living, so they develop an extraordinary willpower, learn to be hardworking and bear hardships.

"Six is a proper age to start training as an acrobat. And those who make it through the hard training can look forward to jobs."

But older students too give acrobatics a go.