Foreigners win Beijing's Golden Great Wall magic contest

BEIJING - Ten overseas magicians won prizes in the second China Beijing international magic contest, with only two Chinese players carrying off awards.

More than 50 magicians from 17 countries and regions joined in the competition from Sept 5 to Sept 7 in Changping Stadium in Beijing. All contestants are winners of various international magic contests.

The gold medalists for close-up and stage magic were Rick Merrill from the United States and Mikael Szanyiel from France. Mathew Wright from the United Kingdom and Jan Rogemann from Germany won silvers in close-up. Chinese magician Ma Yanyan and her German peer Sebastian Nicolas tied for the silver medal in stage contests.

The bronze medalists for the two contests include Mario Lopez from Spain, Johan Stahl from Sweden, Park Seol Ha from the Republic of Korea, David Sousa from Portugal and Chen Jih-sheng from Taiwan.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture, China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Beijing Municipal Government, the contest is regarded as one of the finest magic competitions in China.