Chinese magician Zhu Liankui, who used the stage name Ching Ling Foo, drew large crowds and headlines when he performed at the Chinese Pavilion during the 1898 Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition in Omaha, Nebraska. He marveled his audiences, along with American contemporaries such as legendary illusionist Harry Houdini, with his exceptional sleight-of-hand skills. Another U.S. magician, William Ellsworth Robinson, transformed into Chung Ling Soo by disguising himself as Chinese and recreating many of Ching Ling Foo’s routines.