URUMQI, China, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Holding a 6-meter-long, 8-kilogram balancing pole, 18-year-old Nurman Remait treads carefully on a 6-meter-high tightrope.
As a Dawazi performer, this is one of her daily training programs at the Adili Dawazi Art Heritage Center in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
"Dawazi", a Uygur name for high-wire walking, is a traditional sport in China. In 2006, it was named one of the country's intangible cultural heritages.
Located in Yingjisha County of Xinjiang, Adili Dawazi Art Heritage Center was founded by Adili Hoshur, a sixth generation Dawazi practitioner known as the "tightrope walking prince". The center currently has 22 members, with the youngest being just 11 years old.
In the training hall, Nurman and her 21 teammates are training hard, each showing their special skills. Some skip across the tightrope; some are blindfolded and walk backwards; some girls, wearing ballet shoes, skim over the high-wire on tiptoe.
In addition to individual performances, there is a variety of team-based tricks and stunts. For example, one teammate jumps on the shoulder of another, while the weight-bearing teammate walks the tightrope at a steady pace.
In another example, two performers sit on the tightrope, and another jumps over them with a balancing pole, before landing steadily on the tightrope to move forward.
Another display sees three performers lie on the wire in succession, while another steps quickly on the three of them, then steadies his pace and continues to walk.
Teacher Hankij Zlli says walking on the 6-meter-high tightrope in the training hall is fairly straightforward, and that the tightropes they perform on in shows are more than 20 meters high. According to Hankij, the performers are on the road for more than half a year, and sometimes take in two or three performances per day.
For these sky conquerors, every performance is an unknown journey. To avoid mistakes during the show, they train every day and practise acrobatics and dance in addition to Dawazi. After training in the day, they also take two hours of academic lessons at night.
"I felt scared at the beginning. I was afraid to fall off the wire, even though there were protective pads on the ground. But with everyone's encouragement, I learned more and more difficult moves," said 17-year-old Subnur Ekirm, who has been practising Dawazi for seven years.
Nurman came to the Art Heritage Center to study Dawazi at the age of 11. In September 2019, she and her teammates participated in a sports meet for ethnic minorities in China's central city of Zhengzhou, winning first prize in the skill performance program.
"This was my first time participating in such a big event. The audience loved our performance and applauded us," said Nurman, enthusiastically recalling the competition.
"Our footprints are all around the country. I have performed in Yili (Xinjiang), Zhengzhou and Xiamen (Fujian Province), and I have participated in TV talent shows," Nurman added.
"No matter where we perform, indoors or outdoors, the audience always gives us warm applause. I want to perform in more places, so that more people can know Dawazi and fall in love with it."
