Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Best
Entertainment
Visitors are spoiled for choice when it comes to performances in Beijing. Not
only are there the still-thriving traditional Chinese arts - Peking opera and acro-
batics - but there are an increasing number of live-music venues showcasing
both local and foreign acts.
Acrobatics
Beijing's acrobatics troupes are some of the best in the country. There's nothing quite like
seeing young contortionists turn themselves inside out and upside down, while spinning
plates on the ends of long sticks, or balancing on poles. And they've been doing it for a
while - as far back as the Warring States Period (roughly 475-221 BC) there are mentions
of dagger-juggling and stilt-walking.
These days, professional Chinese acrobats undergo the same rigorous training as future
sports stars. Gifted children as young as five or six are singled out and enrolled in schools
run by the various acrobatic companies. And, like sport, it is a short career. The typical ac-
robat retires from performing sometime in their thirties.
Best Acrobatics & Peking Opera
Tianqiao Acrobatics Theatre
(
Click here
)
Perhaps the best show in town at this
hundred-year-old-plus venue.
Huguang Guild Hall
(
Click here
)
Superb historic venue to take in a traditional Peking
opera show.
Universal Theatre
(Heaven & Earth Theatre;
Click here
)
Home to the Chinese National
Acrobatics Troupe.
Chaoyang Theatre
(
Click here
)
Spectacular daily acrobatic performances and occasional
opera shows too.
