Nineteen-year-old Sha Ma Laqian balances atop a tower of chairs roughly 10 metres above the stage floor, and the crowd holds its breath. What looks like a superhuman stunt is the product of 12 years of work: he started acrobatics training at age seven, and it took him eight to nine years alone to reach the level he performs today.
Laqian, a member of China's Yi ethnic minority, performs with the Sichuan Suining Acrobatics Troupe in 'Legend of Chinese Charm', a one-hour production at the Beijing Chaoyang Theatre. The show ran for a recent audience that included journalists from an Asean media workshop, and it packs nine separate acts into its running time — plate spinning, bowl balancing, hat juggling, ground ring acrobatics, bicycle stunts and even a flying motorcycle sequence, all delivered by more than 60 performers with modern stage lighting and sound behind them.
For Laqian, the high-chair act is the centrepiece. He admits the first performances were nerve-wracking, but repetition has settled his nerves. His personal record is a vertigo-inducing 14 metres — four storeys' worth of chair stack. The physical cost is real: injuries during training and performances are, in his words, common in acrobatics. What keeps him going is the audience reaction — the applause that greets each completed routine.
His costume adds a cultural layer, designed in the traditional 'Shusheng' style, evoking a classical Chinese scholar or student to match the show's theme. That blend of old and new is the whole point of the production: traditional Chinese acrobatics — a discipline passed down through years of apprentice-style training — repackaged with contemporary staging so it lands with modern and international audiences.
Why should a traveller care? Because this is an easy, memorable evening out in Beijing. The Chaoyang Theatre has long been a go-to venue for visitors wanting to see Chinese acrobatics without trekking to a training academy, and 'Legend of Chinese Charm' is exactly the kind of hour-long, high-production show that fits neatly between a day at the Forbidden City and dinner. You get strength, balance and stunts that have taken performers their entire childhoods to master — plus the occasional moment when a motorcycle takes flight.
It's also a window into how China presents its performing arts heritage. The young acrobat himself says his goal is to introduce Chinese acrobatics to the international community, and the Asean media visitors — 21 journalists from nine countries on a two-week programme that also took in Nanning and Fujian — got a front-row look at that effort.
If you're planning a Beijing trip and want a night of spectacle that doesn't require language skills to enjoy, an acrobatics show like this one delivers. Arrive early for good seats, keep your phone handy for the finale, and remember that when the performer smiles calmly from the top of that chair tower, he's standing on years of discipline you can barely imagine.
