These are the incredible stunts performed by a youngster who clambers up a 20-foot high bamboo pole balanced on the shoulder of a friend.
The video was shot on a road in Heze, in China’s Shandong Province, where the pole-carrying friend is walking down the road before the acrobat Li Meng runs up from behind him and clambers up his back and onto the pole.
He then went swiftly to the top where he performed a series of stunts.
Li said he had been learning acrobatics since he was 12 years old and has been practising bamboo pole climbing for 25 years.
At that time, he chose bamboo pole climbing because he liked this project more.
He can perform eight movements on the bamboo pole. The most difficult movement for him is doing a handstand on the bamboo pole, Li said.
He said: ” During the Qingming Festival holiday, I and my partner went to Zhejiang to perform for three days and earned CNY 10,000 [GBP 1,100]. My dream is to perform at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala.”
Li made previous headlines for a similar stunt he performed for a stunned audience in Heze alongside his friend, Wang Fuquan, back in 2022.
Wang told local media back then that he had to make constant tiny adjustments to his position to maintain a perfect balance for his partner.
Footage of their performance shows Wang shouldering the pole as his partner climbs up to begin a series of gravity-defying stunts.
As the crowd gasped, the pair showed how they could move from one acrobatic move to another with apparently effortless ease.
There was no protective measure during the performance and any mistake could mean serious injury.
Wang added: “We must find a way to remove the force generated by the performance above, otherwise he will definitely fall down when he kicks the pole, and balance is the most important thing.
“Therefore, although a performance may only last for two or three minutes, in fact, each time is a test of the skills of two people.”