Chicago's Sister Cities celebrate in Daley Plaza

The festival, 6th Annual Chicago Sister Cities International Festival (chicagosistercities.com), runs through Friday and includes entertainment, food and other items from around the world. On Tuesday, Cirque Shanghai performed over the lunch hour. Those athletes turned strength and balance into a powerful ballet.

"It's a Chinese acrobat show," Miao Miao Chen, director, said. "No, all of our acts are Chinese acrobats. There are no animals... They are the best. We collect all the best acts of China."

Cirque Shanghai is playing at Navy Pier until September 5. Three acts served the lunch crowd at Daley Plaza Tuesday.

Miao Miao Chen said the training starts very young. He said, "These performers they start when they are six, seven years old. And they have their training six to eight hours every day ... six days a week. They train two to three years before they can get on stage and perform.

The athletes leave their families. "They have to stay in school for eight years," Miao Miao Chen said.

At Navy Pier, the show is $15 for kids and $32.50 for adults.

Chicago's Sister Cities:
• ACCRA, GHANA: Chicago's Sister City Since 1989
• AMMAN, JORDAN: Chicago's Sister City Since 2004
• ATHENS, GREECE: Chicago's Sister City Since 1997
• BELGRADE, SERBIA: Chicago's Sister City Since 2005
• BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND: Chicago's Sister City Since 1993
• BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA: Chicago's Sister City Since 2009
• BUSAN, REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Chicago's Sister City Since 2007
• CASABLANCA, MOROCCO: Chicago's Sister City Since 1982
• DELHI, INDIA: Chicago's Sister City Since 2001
• DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA: Chicago's Sister City Since 1997
• GALWAY, IRELAND: Chicago's Sister City Since 1997
• GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN: Chicago's Sister City Since 1987
• HAMBURG, GERMANY: Chicago's Sister City Since 1994
• KYIV, UKRAINE: Chicago's Sister City Since 1991
• LAHORE, PAKISTAN: Chicago's Sister City Since 2007
• LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND: Chicago's Sister City Since 1998
• MEXICO CITY, MEXICO: Chicago's Sister City Since 1991
• MILAN, ITALY: Chicago's Sister City Since 1973
• MOSCOW, RUSSIA: Chicago's Sister City Since 1997
• OSAKA, JAPAN: Chicago's Sister City Since 1973
• PARIS, FRANCE: Chicago's Sister City Since 1996
• PETACH TIKVA, ISRAEL: Chicago's Sister City Since 1994
• PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC: Chicago's Sister City Since 1990
• SHANGHAI & SHENYANG, CHINA: Chicago's Sister Cities Since 1985
• TORONTO, CANADA: Chicago's Sister City Since 1991
• VILNIUS, LITHUANIA: Chicago's Sister City Since 1993
• WARSAW, POLAND: Chicago's Sister City Since 1960