Show Guide
ERA at Shanghai Circus World: What the Show Actually Is
ERA is Shanghai Circus World's signature multimedia acrobatic show, running since 2005, built around a motorcycle stunt inside a steel cage.
See ERA show dates on GetYourGuide ↗ERA at a glance
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Show debut | September 2005 |
| Venue opened | 1999 |
| Signature act | Motorcycle globe, billed as the "Giant Ball Motorcycle" act |
| Riders | Several motorcycles at once |
| Current official title | ERA2 — Spirit of Shanghai |
What ERA Actually Is
"ERA — Intersection of Time" premiered at Shanghai Circus World in September 2005, six years after the venue itself opened in 1999. It isn't a traditional circus: there's no ringmaster and no clowns, and this particular production has no animals in it. Instead, ERA fuses traditional Chinese acrobatics and martial arts with contemporary theatrical staging — projected visuals, water effects, and choreographed lighting built around each act. The format leans on movement and spectacle rather than spoken dialogue, which is part of why it plays well to visitors who don't speak Chinese. The show has a long run at the venue and is still on the programme.
The Motorcycle Cage Finale
The show's climax is a motorcycle stunt performed inside a spherical steel-mesh cage, billed in ERA2 as the "Giant Ball Motorcycle" act. It belongs to the stunt family known internationally as the Globe of Death: riders circle the inside of the sphere at speed. It's the most photographed moment of the night.
Other Acts on the Bill
The motorcycle act gets the attention, but ERA2 is built from a full sequence of acrobatic and theatrical acts, almost entirely new for this version. 3D projections move the stage from natural landscapes to city streets and fantastical scenes, stage machinery lets performers appear from unexpected places, and the costumes mix Rococo-style French fashion with cheongsams and Chinese long dresses. The original score runs from hip-hop and tango rhythms to vocal ballads, pairing guzheng, erhu and drums with piano, harp and violin. Which acts appear can shift between the 60-minute and 100-minute versions.
No Animals in This Show
ERA does not use animals in its performance — everything on stage is acrobats, dancers, motorcycle riders, and stage technology. If you've read about an animal act at Shanghai Circus World, that's a separate production called "Happy Circus," which runs at the same venue but is a distinct show with its own tickets, schedule, and pricing. The two are easy to conflate because they share a building, but they're marketed and sold separately, and a ticket to one doesn't include the other. If animals are a deciding factor for your group — for or against — check which show you're booking before you buy, since the venue's site lists both.
The Show's Many Names
ERA has been re-versioned more than once since its 2005 debut, and the branding has changed along with it. Earlier titles included "Intersection of Time" and "Journey Through Space and Time"; the current official booking title is "ERA2 — Spirit of Shanghai." Listings and travel sites often use "ERA" as shorthand for whichever version is currently running, which is accurate in spirit but can cause confusion if you're trying to match a specific title to a specific ticket. Because the venue periodically re-versions the production, don't assume a title on an older review matches what's being sold today — confirm the current title and content — verify at official booking before you travel.
Seating and Scale
Shanghai Circus World's main theatre seats approximately 1,638 people, based on the most commonly cited figure — treat that as a reasonable but single-sourced estimate rather than an official capacity figure. The venue sits on a substantial site and was purpose-built for large-scale theatrical acrobatics, which is part of why it can support a production as technically heavy as ERA, with its rigging, water effects, and cage apparatus. None of this changes seat-by-seat visibility, which depends more on your ticket zone than on the room's total size. Whatever capacity or seating detail you're relying on to plan a visit, verify at official booking before travel, since configurations can change.