It was a clear evening in late September, and music echoed through the streets in Wuqiao as acrobats from home and abroad merged into a moving spectacle. Classic Chinese acrobatic acts, including bowl balancing and dragon dance, were put on stage. From within the vibrant parade leapt a familiar figure: a Chinese acrobat dressed as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from Journey to the West, who joined Tanzanian performers in dancing and cheering to the rhythm of African drums.

The parade marked the opening of the 20th China Wuqiao International Circus Festival, or CWICF. Established in 1987 and held every two years, the CWICF has grown into one of the world's best-known acrobatic events, standing alongside the Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival in Monaco and the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris.

Widely regarded as the "cradle of Chinese acrobatics", the acrobatic tradition in Wuqiao grew both from hard times and opportunity: impoverished, flood-prone farmland once forced locals to turn seasonal off-farm work into a livelihood, transforming daily tools into props for performances. Its location along the Grand Canal of China also helped spread the art to wider audiences.