This circus’s “big top” was scaled down to village size, with about 8 guys acting as ringmaster, acrobats, clowns, animal handlers, ticket takers, poop scooper, etc.

According to the ringmaster I was the first American to attend their circus, apparently winning me the honor to be the first person of the evening to pay 10RMB ($1.50) to sit next to the tiger and have my photo taken.  In the US you would need to sign an insurance waiver witnessed by 3 lawyers in order to sit next to a tiger in a circus, but things are a little more casual in China.  Besides, I think the tiger was older than me and possibly just as jet-lagged.