Plying the wire for a sense of balance

To go with China-unrest-Tiananmen-Xinjiang,FOCUS by Felicia SONMEZ (FILES) In this file picture taken on June 28, 2013, Chinese paramilitary police man a checkpoint on the road to the riot-affected Uighur town of Lukqun, Xinjiang province. Festering discontent with China's governance of Xinjiang is on the rise and Beijing is intent on clamping down, analysts say, in a vicious cycle that will only spin faster after a fatal attack in Tiananmen Square. AFP PHOTO/FILES/Mark RALSTON

Uighurs’ favourite sport – tightrope walking – is seen as sign of the ethnic group’s resilience amid China’s religious and cultural constraints.

FROM the top of the Prince of the Sky’s tower, the pavement below is a vertigo-inducing abstraction, a grey expanse dotted with people-like specks.