Circus Arts
01 · Historical Records
Yongqiao circus art originated in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, took shape in the 1920s and 1930s, was revived in the 1950s, and grew and expanded during the period of reform and opening up; it has undergone a developmental process from equestrian martial arts and horseback variety acts, to animal displays and animal taming, and then to circus performance and circus art.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
Yongqiao circus combines acrobatics and animal performance into one, with humans and animals performing on the same stage, bringing the skills on which they make their livelihood to vivid life and together creating a paradise of life. Circus works such as 'Flying Act with Twin Monkeys', 'Bear Handstand', 'Tightrope Walking', 'Goat Balancing Flower Vases', 'Group Dance of Humans and Snakes', and 'Taming Lions and Tigers' are highly praised by audiences at home and abroad, and have built a bridge of friendship and cultural exchange for peoples of all countries. Circus art has a profound cultural foundation: circus artists skillfully blend local opera and folk vocal arts, folk arts, history and culture, social life, and outstanding foreign cultural elements into circus art, enabling the circus to be continuously enriched and developed.
Flying Monkeys and the Bear's Handstand
Signature Yongqiao items in which monkeys and bears perform alongside people, combining animal training with acrobatics.
Tightrope and the Goat on a Vase
Repertoire items pairing a wire-walking act with a goat balancing on a vase.
Snake Dance and Lion-tiger Taming
Representative items: a dance with snakes and the taming of lions and tigers, both widely praised at home and abroad.
The art of animal training
The core craft of Yongqiao circus: trainers learn each animal's habits and build responses through reward and command.
Li Zhengbing and the Star Circus
Li Zhengbing learned animal training from his father in 1974 and has headed the Anhui Star Circus since 2005, training dozens of key animal handlers.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Yongqiao circus is concentrated in the townships of Yongqiao District, Suzhou City, Anhui Province, with the animal-training troupes of the Haogou and Zhuxianzhuang areas being the most flourishing. Local performers take family troupes as their units and tour outside year-round, forming a mobile performance tradition that combines animal training, acrobatics, song, and dance. Today Yongqiao District has more than two hundred circuses of various kinds, employs more than ten thousand people, and earns more than 200 million yuan in net annual performance income; animal trainers such as Li Zhengbing are renowned for their skill in taming large wild beasts, and the several dozen animal trainers they have trained have become the backbone of circuses everywhere.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
Yongqiao District, Suzhou City, Anhui Province, today has 245 circuses of various kinds, more than ten thousand employees, and net annual performance income of more than 200 million yuan; its circus performances account for half of the country's total. Although the circus is thriving, the impact of modern lifestyles on it cannot be underestimated; cultivating more outstanding inheritors and better adapting to the modern cultural ecological environment are the problems it urgently needs to solve. Li Zhengbing (recorded in the official file of the associated inheritor): Male, Han ethnicity, born in December 1956, from Suzhou City, Anhui Province. An animal trainer of Yongqiao circus and a second-class actor. In 1974, he learned animal-training skills from his father, laying a good foundation in animal taming and circus performance; later he studied scientific methods of animal management in the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine department of a 'May 7th' university. In 1980 he served as animal trainer and deputy leader of the Suxian County Animal Performance Troupe; since 2005 he has served as leader of the Anhui Mingxing Grand Circus. Since embarking on a career in the circus, he has stood out for his animal-training skill and performance talent; he is renowned for his ability to tame large wild beasts and is familiar with the habits and capabilities of all kinds of animals. He is a representative inheritor of Circus (Yongqiao Circus), a project in the fourth national-level batch of intangible cultural heritage. The several dozen animal trainers he has trained in succession have become the backbone of circuses everywhere.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Li Zhengbing 04-1742
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript; it mirrors the bilingual dossier. 阅读中文版，或返回 英文名录。