Cirque de Chine: Put on your Pigeon Forge, TN "to do" list

We've been to Pigeon Forge several times. One of the reasons we keep coming back is the wide variety of quality attractions and the great access to nature that the area has to offer.

While you have to be careful about which attractions you chose, some are worth the investment of both time and money. Cirque de Chine at the Smoky Mountain Palace is one of those attractions.

If  you like demonstrations of physical strength, daring stunts, and blazing motorcycles (yes, motorcycles), you will enjoy Cirque de Chine.  The cast of 40+ individuals hail from China and bring a variety of talents that kept our entire family engaged.



Quality venue
When you arrive at the Cirque venue, you'll be pleased to find a well kept, fairly new facility that looks fairly classy for the Pigeon Forge / Gatlinburg area. One gets accustomed to the "down home" feel of the south. Here you feel like you are in a much more urban environment. It feels more like a nice movie theater than anything else. It's air conditioned, has nice theater seating, has clean restrooms and facilities. We reserved our tickets on line for the 2pm show on a Tuesday, but there were plenty of seats. If you do reserve on line, you'll save $3 a ticket.

Amazing talent
There is some pretty amazing talent at Cirque de Chine. Each segment of the show lasts about 10 to 15 minutes accompanied by great lighting, dramatic background music and amazing feats of balance, strength and daring. Consider the following:

• 8 to 10 ladies riding a single bicycle...with ease.
• A woman performing daring acrobatics 20 feet in the air using a 30 foot long red drape.
• An incredible demonstration of balance.
• And a juggling act you have to see to believe.

Sounds like a circus, right? It is, but it is performed with an element of grace and Far Eastern nobility that is totally out of place in Pigeon Forge. I think that is what makes Cirque de Chine so appealing. You really don't expect to find entertainment like this on a strip that promotes events like "Dixie Stampede" or "The Comedy Barn".

The kicker act is the finale which entails 4 motorcyclists riding 30 to 40 mph in a giant 40 foot steel sphere. Incredibly dangerous. Elegantly performed with class and penosh.

Good value 
Our visit to Cirque de Chine cost $92 for all five us of us. As mentioned before, we bought tickets in advance on line and that cut $15 from the total price. In terms of value, you get a nicely paced show that is off the beaten path of the "hillbilly" theme that dominates Pigeon Forge. The show was two hours long with a 15 minute intermission.

Recommendation
For my teenaged sons, they all liked the acts and are still talking about some elements in passing. I think that's a good sign.  You can spend $90 to $100 a lot quicker and in a less satisfying manner in a ton of places in Pigeon Forge.

We thought this one was worth the money.