China's elite acrobats are hand-picked at a tender age to begin a gruelling

CHILDREN must pay a high price on the mainland to be the best. Rigorous training for more than 12 hours a day is what it takes to be a top acrobat, and that routine begins at the age of six.

In the main gym of the Beijing Municipal Acrobatic School girls juggle and twiddle plates on sticks. They somersault and practise pyramid balancing acts. Boys hurl themselves like monkeys between two six-metre poles, performing daring somersaults as they go, only the beginners caught in their falls by safety harnesses. A contortionist holds her position for at least 10 minutes.

For most children, much of this might look like fun. But for these students this is no play-time and there are no smiles and laughter as they concentrate on developing their skills.

Ji Xuewei does not remember when she was hand-picked to join the training team of the China State Circus. Now aged 10, she practises for her next performance, tossed and somersaulting like a ball between the hands, feet and heads of two older acrobats. Like her classmates, she spends just 10 days a year with her parents, but she says she does not mind. She is used to the routine. 'We don't feel homesick anymore,' she says, her face devoid of fear or any other emotion.

Six is the optimum age to start training as an acrobat, according to Zhang Yusheung, the team leader in charge of 50 Chinese and 20 Russian children. Their immature bodies are still supple enough to be stretched and bent into the most unnatural of contortions, but they are old enough to stand the gruelling regime that awaits them.

After seven years these children will complete their formal training and become professional acrobats. But within three years they should be ready for their first public performance. Children are the little stars of the troupe's nightly shows in Beijing and on tour across the world.