Invited to judge the magic competition at the 2nd Hengqin Magic Festival

Ruxianguli | Forty years of turning magic into a bridge

There is a kind of magic that does not only happen on stage.

It happens in herders’ tents at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, in the makeshift prefab classrooms after the Wenchuan earthquake, in the canteens for the elderly in Shenzhen’s neighbourhoods, and in the wide-open eyes of children in Kashgar, Xinjiang.

It even happens in Hengqin — a new cultural shore that is still growing.

For the 2nd HMF Hengqin Magic Festival, we have invited a judge of real standing.

She goes by many titles:

National Class-A Performer. Expert receiving the State Council Special Government Allowance. Fourth-generation inheritor of “Fu-family Illusion”, a national intangible cultural heritage. Vice-Director of the Magic Art Committee of the China Acrobats Association. Vice-Chair of the Guangdong Acrobats Association. Part-time Vice-Chair of the Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Chair of the Shenzhen Acrobats Association. A 2026 “Style of the Times” arts volunteer.

But if you ask her, she would probably say —

“I am just a magician.”

More than forty years, and it all began with one playing card.

In the late 1970s, a girl from Xinjiang picked up a deck of cards for the first time. No one told her how far that road could go; she simply felt — “this thing can make people feel wonder and joy. How wonderful.”

Later, she became “the Flying-Card Fairy”.

The cards leave her fingertips as if they had eyes, as if they could speak. But sharper than her flying cards is her eye for people.

From the pastures, mines, barracks and schools of Xinjiang, she performed her way to the theatres, communities and cultural-tourism stages of Shenzhen. After putting down roots in Shenzhen in 1998, she did not shut herself away in the rehearsal room; she took magic into every corner of the city.

She brought magic, in person, to everyone around her.

After the Wenchuan earthquake she carried her props into the disaster zone — not to perform, but to help frightened children believe in the word “miracle” again.

She led the founding of the “Love Magic Action” magic volunteer team, which goes into welfare homes, grassroots communities and the borderlands. She performs in the “Red Literary and Art Light Cavalry” shows for the public: wherever the stage is set up, that place becomes a theatre.

She went to Kashgar in Xinjiang to train performers and stage new work, helping to create Xinjiang’s first full-length magic gala, “Pengjiang Moyun” — not just a show, but a bridge linking the Tianshan Mountains with the South China Sea, and tradition with the future.

Representing China, she has carried this wonder to Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Vanuatu and other countries, telling the story of Chinese magic to the world.

She is also a bridge between those who came before and those who come after.

Under her training and guidance, a group of young magicians including Liu Bei, Hu Linglong, An Na, Zuli, Aihemaiti, Xin Yafei and Guzali have come to the fore, winning top results at professional competitions at home and abroad and gradually becoming a backbone of China's magic profession.

There is something she often says:

“Technique can be practised. What people truly remember is the understanding and expression in the work.”

This is not a feel-good slogan. It is what she has learned over forty years, one performance at a time.

Honours are given by others. What she wants for herself is to be “still on the road”.

An award at Monte-Carlo ‘Magic Stars’ in Monaco. The Merlin Award of the International Magicians Society as “Best Female Illusionist”. “Top Ten International Magicians”. Guangdong Young and Middle-aged Artist of Virtue and Artistry.

In 2026, the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles named her a “Style of the Times” arts volunteer.

Yet none of these titles carries as much weight as the words she says after sitting down at the edge of a competition and watching a young contestant’s whole act —

“Think about your ending again.”

This time, she is coming to Hengqin.

At HMF 2026, the 2nd Hengqin Magic Festival, Ruxianguli will take her seat in the competition as a judge.

What she looks at is not only whether the sleight of hand is clean or the apparatus clever.

What she looks at is —

whether the act has a human touch;

whether the performer has truly understood the props in their hands, the audience in front of them, and the ground beneath their feet.

From the roots of intangible heritage to international standards, from stage polish to the promise of youth, she will give every contestant a judgement that is “warm, and also exacting”.

Forty years ago, she picked up her first card.

Forty years on, she will sit on the judges’ panel of the HMF Hengqin Magic Festival and send the next “card” flying.

——

HMF 2026 · The 2nd Hengqin Magic Festival · Magic Competition Judge

Ruxianguli Aibaidula

Fourth-generation inheritor of “Fu-family Illusion”, national intangible cultural heritage · National Class-A Performer

State Council Special Allowance expert · Chief Magician, Happy Valley Shenzhen · Chair, Shenzhen Acrobats Association

Golden Lion Award · Monte-Carlo ‘Magic Stars’ · Merlin Award · Special Award, China Golden Chrysanthemum Award

Tianmu Qintai × Hengqin No.5 Hotel | 4–8 November 2026

Stage showcase / Magic competition / International masters / Night market