Askar Obulqasim

What is your goal at the moment? Getting a good grade from your exams? Winning the basketball tournament? Or saving enough money to buy the phone you have wanted for some time? People have different goals in their lives but Askar Obulqasim might have the strangest goal in life. At the moment he is planning his next big move. He plans to string a 1,000-metre rope some 300 metres above the ground in the Wulong Karst National Park in central China. Then he will walk to the middle of it and sit down for an hour with a bottle balanced on his head. He holds several tightrope-walking world records one and also the fastest walk across a 100m rope in 2013. “I want to transmit the culture of tightrope walking to the next generation of children. So that when we are gone, their children can also transmit this art to the next generation,” Askar said looking down at the scenery from where he stood.

Askar hopes to draw international attention to this profession. It is known among Uighurs as dawaz. Many people consider the 1,000-year-old art to be one of the noblest sports of their home region of Xinjiang, China. They are proud of themselves on doing their feet without safety nets. It isn’t clear how many people still practise dawaz. Well-known tightrope walkers can be found in many cities across Xinjiang. The most famous Uighur tightrope walker is Adil Hoshur. He even appeared in the movie Kings of the Sky. Adili Wuxor is another Uighuri who gained fame for tightrope walking. He spent sixty days walking on a tightrope in the Beijing National Stadium in 2010, which was built for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Rope walking ties into the Uighur sense of heroism and adventure, said Gulnisa Nazarova. Nazarova is a language professor at Indiana University. “To the Uighur mind, dawaz tightrope walkers are a symbol of the Uighurs’ natural adventurousness. They believe that this behaviour is in their genes,” Nazarova explained.

When not looking for his next challenge, Askar performs at a theme park. He and his Uighur friend have a wellrehearsed performance. He stunts like lying down or running on the rope. Askar has performed for years. He says he is not afraid anymore, no matter how high the rope is. He does the same thing before every performance. Seconds before stepping on the rope, he checks his messages on his cell phone. Then, he grabs a long metal pole and starts walking. About 10 minutes later, he steps off the rope. He puts back the metal beam that helped him keep his balance. Askar is sweaty and out of breathe. A big smile shines on his face. Onto the next challenge!