These touching images show a sprightly 65-year-old Chinese farmer – who appears to have a keen understanding of martial arts – performing impressive acrobatics in a bid to make his 96-year-old mother laugh again after her husband passed away.

The incident took place in Suixian County, in Henan Province, in central China, when Wang Yongqing, a farmer, decided that he would continue his practice of acrobatics and other workout exercises that he used to do with his father before the latter passed away.

His reasoning was rather simple: he wanted to make his 96-year-old mother, Lao Wang, laugh again and distract her from her grief.

In one piece of footage, the farmer can be seen balancing what appears to be a spinning bowl on top of a stick that is itself balanced on a blade that he is holding between his jaws.

Another piece of footage shows him cheerfully riding a unicycle while holding what appears to be the front end of a bicycle, while his mother watches on. Both of them appear to be enjoying the activity and laugh heartily.

A third video shows him juggling straw hats, putting each one he grabs on his head before grabbing the next one and doing the same while his mum, who appears to be peeling sweetcorn, watches on enthusiastically.

In another video, which appears to show the farmer’s mum sitting in front of her house, the farmer can be seen catching a ball in a cup on his head after tossing it high into the air.

Other images also show the farmer, who appears to be a practitioner of martial arts, doing head stands before flipping over onto his feet and repeating the process in a series of impressively executed moves.

The farmer also appears to be skilled at balancing things, with another piece of footage showing him balancing a large wooden structure between his jaws.

The farmer said: “I am very happy to have my mother, and I hope to perform for her for another 10 years.”