We'd heard through the grapevine (ie FB) that there was a Russian circus performing in Tianjin. Naturally we had to check it out!!!
One morning our friend Jennifer drove to the circus tent to see if she could procure tickets for all of us (three families). Turns out they wanted ~588 RMB (nearly $100US) per ticket for decent seats!!!! YIKES! Holy schmoly!!!
After some discussion and research on the internet (where would we be without it???) we found the same tickets going for 95 RMB per ticket on Tao Bao (it's kind of like Chinese ebay). With the help of one of Mark's Chinese co-workers we bought tickets!
YAY!!!!!!
Are you ready to be dazzled by the show? Are you ready to laugh so hard you feel you're going to split open??? You'd better be!
(Of course the photos and videos don't do the show justice. The lighting wasn't in our favor for photo taking and naturally we forgot the "good" camera and were stuck using the iphone camera for all the photos. Oops. Maybe some day I'll remember to bring the good camera along!!!)
We were early to the show (I thought the show started at 6:30pm but that was only the suggested time to get there- the show didn't actually start until after 7pm). At least we got good seats….which really didn't matter as 1)the theater was only half-full with guests and 2) we could act like Chinese people and move to better seats even if you didn't pay for the high price tickets!!!
The gang (minus Croydon) waiting patiently for the show to start! (see what I mean about poor lighting for photos?)
We saw a few kids come up to the front of the rink to take a turn riding on the horse. After much convincing, Ava finally decided to go up and say hi to the horse. Ava claimed she didn't want to ride on the horse but we could tell that she really wanted to but she was too nervous, shy, whatever to go. We knew she would enjoy it.
Ha ha! The Russian circus worker swooped up Ava and plopped her on to the horse. Apparently the ride should have cost 20 RMB but the circus worker shook his head and said no charge (the Chinese worker did want to charge Mark for the ride).
And guess what??? She DID enjoy the horse ride. Who knew that Mommy and Daddy would be right about that????
And little Landen also got to go for a ride:
Let the Russian Circus Show begin!!!!!
Guests could try riding and standing up on the horse while it trotted/jogged in a circular path around the rink. The guests all wore a belt that was connected to the rope (to keep them safe). One guy had is pants ripped in the crotch and yet another guy had his pants pulled down trying to do this stunt. (it's unclear whether or not those men were just part of the act or if they were guests of the show.) Ha ha ha ha!!!!
Lady trainer dancing with one of her dogs (golden retrievers, a poodle and a white fluffy pooch):
Time to send in the clowns!
The clowns kept the audience busy for the crew to set up this:
The Giant Hamster Wheel!!!
And then of course we have the Black Bears! (my personal favorite!)
And here's a performer (supposedly African???) running around with a poor albino Burmese python. Out of all the animals in the show this is the one I felt the most sorry for. The snake obviously didn't enjoy being swung around.
Get ready for the tigers!!!!
Yes, I'm glad we have that cage between us and them!!!!
And now some Horse Riding Tricks!!
I think that *all* the kids and *all* the grown-ups had a blast watching the show!
Oh my! Is that thunder I hear? Quick! There's our driver over there! I think it's time to go, NOW!