Over the years, Wang Kang has made roses suddenly appear, done tricks with swords and popped more than his fair share of balloons.

Of course, the clown and magician, 31, also has a knack of making laughter appear from nowhere, but spontaneity was all but absent in one of his latest shows.

Instead he conjured up for himself a place he can finally call home in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, bought with savings he has piled up over 10 years through the hard graft of amusing people, young and old.

When Wang was young, he says, he lived in a mud house built with straw that leaked when it rained. When he was 16 he dropped out of school and went to Hangzhou, where his life as a clown began.

"I perform for anybody who loves magic tricks, whether they are rich or poor," he says. "I enjoy making people happy."

Having a home has been more important for him than his work, he says, and in buying his apartment he has given himself, and his parents, the kind of joy he gives others.

Wang says he hopes that one day he will not need to perform to make a living, and that he can simply enjoy what he does as art.

(China Daily European Weekly 05/16/2014 page4)