A total of 41 acrobatic troupes with nearly 800 performers will stage 64 events, competing for 10 prizes in various fields, including directing, performing, composing, and scenery.

The competition, held every four years, will be co-sponsored by the MOC and the local government of Guizhou, aims to promote Chinese acrobatics performance and teaching, and encourage new talents and original creation.

Competitors are aged from eight to 17. Feng Yuan, director of Arts Department of the MOC, said this age-range spanned the peak of Chinese acrobatics arts.

China had gained wide acclaim for acrobatics and the competition had always drawn much attention worldwide, Feng said.

This year will feature acrobats from foreign countries, including France, the United States, Russia, Canada, and Cuba, in performances with Chinese artists. Some well-known performing arts agencies will also attend.

A tourism festival featuring acrobatics and liquor and wine will be held at the same time as the competition.

Zunyi is well known throughout China for a historic meeting of the Chinese Communist Party in 1935, and is world-renowned for Maotai liquor.

(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2002)