Nine-year-old Sudanese boy Ahmad, the youngest performer at the gala, came to China in 2004 to study acrobatics in Puyang, a cradle of the traditional Chinese art in central Henan Province. " My folk love acrobatics. I'll show them more about Chinese culture when I grow up," he said in fluent Chinese.

Yeneneh Tesfaye from Ethiopia said he plans to go home soon to perform in his country what he has learned in China.

"I'll probably become a superstar when I get back as few people in Ethiopia can practice rolling bowls and foot juggling the way I do," said Helen Yohannes, 18. "But I'll miss my coaches, classmates and the delicious Chinese dishes."

The Wuqiao International Acrobatics School in north China's Hebei Province, where Tesfaye and Yohannes studied for the past two years, currently has 22 African students aged between 12 and 22.

Founded in 1985 the school has trained nearly 100 acrobats from African countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Ghana since it was authorized by the Chinese government to recruit international students in 2002, said Qi Zhiye, president of the school. "Ninety percent of them have taken jobs as professional acrobats or coaches in their home countries," said Qi.

The training of people has been an important part of China-Africa cooperation in the past decades. By the end of 2005 China had offered more than 18,000 governmental scholarships to African students.

"Let's build up a golden bridge of friendship, peace, cooperation and development," prayed Guillaume Moumouni, the proud moderator from Benin, at the end of the gala. Moumouni, 38, first came to China in 1990 and is pursuing a PhD in international relations at the Beijing University.

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