Zhang Liang, 32, a slacklining enthusiast. [Photo provided to China Daily]

On a sunny morning, Zhang Liang gazes into the distance while perched barefoot on a 100-meter-long rope that is strung between two green camphor trees under a busy Shanghai urban viaduct.

Zhang calls the place an "urban forest". He stands up, wobbles back and forth without falling.

As the sun sinks below the horizon, the 32-year-old hops on the metro and heads home. He practices two or three days like this each week.

Zhang is a Chinese pioneer slackliner who first got into the sport back in 2007. It is a sport of balancing, walking across, and doing stunts on a slackline.

In April 2016, after several attempts, he successfully traversed the Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan province, which is one of deepest gorges in the country.