72-hour survival challenge on tightrope?

High-wire walking is an extreme sport that few dare attempt. But this daredevil from Kashgar in Xinjiang has taken it to the next level, by doing a 72-hour tightrope survival challenge.

The 31-year-old Saimaiti Aishan is spending 72 hours on a 70-meter-long steel wire, 50 meters above the ground, in Changsha city of central China's Hunan Province. 

The steel wire, 20 millimeters in diameter, is connected between a tower and a hoist. The ongoing challenge began at 12:45 pm on January 1st. 

Not content to just walk the rope, he’s taking on a number of difficult tasks, including headstands, laying flat, and the hula-hoop. 

During the 72 hours, he’ll be able to snack on five pancakes, specially prepared by his mum, and two liters of water in a calabash.

Wire walking, or "Dawazi," is a traditional sport of the Uyghurs, an ethnic group native to China's northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Saimaiti Aishan is the 7th generation of a high-wire walking family from Xinjiang. He has practiced this since childhood and has broken several world records.