Stilt walk（高跷）
Walking on stilts is a kind of performance which has prevailed among the populace from ancient times to the present. It was considered as one kind of acrobatics in ancient times. It came into being in Spring and Autumn Period.
Stilt walk had been a popular activity in five hundred B.C. the performers were not only walking on the stilts, but also leaped and performed a sword-dance with it. Stilt walk are divided into 3 parts: 高跷 中跷 跑跷. The highest stilt can be an inch. In accordance with the record of old books, the stilts in ancient time were all made of wood. And a hole is shaped in the middle of the stilt for the foot and uses the ropes to be tied up with feet. The performer can perform sword, split, jump stool, walk across the table, do the yangge dance and so on.
The performers playing stilt walking in Beijing have their conventions. They often act as old freshman, woman matchmaker, silly childe, little waiter, Taoist nun, monk and so on. The performers act in funny way in order to arouse the excitement from the audiences. On the other hand, they play a role in Guan Fei(张飞), Zhang Yu(关羽), lu Dongbin(吕洞宾), He Xiangu(何仙姑),Zhang Sheng(张生), matchmaker(红娘), Jigong(济公), clown(小丑) and so on in the south of China. They are acting and singing as easily as on firm earth. In the meantime, the audiences engage the lively atmosphere. It is said that, the ancients invented the form of stilt walk in order to get to the wild fruits on the trees. Later on, it blooms into an actives called stilt walk which acted by tied up with foot with the ropes.
Zoned Han Chuan(划旱船)
There is a popular legend that Zoned Han Chuan is created in a bid to commemorate the Da Yu’s success of preventing floods by water control. Zoned Han Chuan is called as Pao Han Chuan, too.
It is a kind of activity that people imitate the acts rowing in the river, while actually they play the game on the ground. Most actors of Zoned Han Chuan are young girls. Han Chuan is not the real boat and it consists of two thin plates which are decorated as the shape of a boat and bundled up with bamboo. And then the boat would be coved with colorful cloth. The young girls will stand in the middle of the boat which is tie up with the girl’s waist with ropes. Then the young girls pretend to paddle a boat in the water with rowing the paddles. They are dancing and singing some local songs. This is Zoned Han Chuan. Once in a while, another man would act as a guest by boat. He cooperates with the young girl by playing a role in the clown. He may attract the audiences’ attention by varied funny moves. Zoned Han Chuan prevails in many regions of China.