Leaps of faith

An ace Chinese wingsuit flyer says learning the extreme sport requires patience and caution.

With tanned skin and strong muscles, Zhang Shupeng, 35, looks more mature than his age due to his long sun exposure.

Routinely leaping off high places and staying airborne for stunts, he has taken to extreme sports as a career since he first practiced parasailing in 2004. Now, he is touted in Chinese media as the "No 1 wingsuit flyer in Asia".

"There are quite a few wingsuit daredevils in China, but I'm the only one who excels at the sport," Zhang says, jokingly.

In mid-May, a female flyer plunged from a helicopter hovering over Tianmen Mountain in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province, but was found dead days later.

The horrifying news catapulted the niche sport into the limelight and also generated intense skepticism on social media about such sports.

Zhang, the first Chinese wingsuit flyer to compete in the World Wingsuit Championships and win a silver medal, recently spoke to China Daily about ensuring safety in extreme sports and the sector's landscape in China.

An experienced wingsuit pilot, Zhang doesn't appear to be a typical adrenaline junkie, full of flamboyance. On the contrary, the taciturn skydiver comes across as particularly meticulous and serious through his words.

He loves challenges but, from his perspective, that's not necessarily equal to taking risks. And he says he never tries risky moves beyond his capabilities. "I always feel there is no dangerous sport, only dangerous people."

The flyer follows his own rules: He only practices according to a strict regimen.

Zhang was one of the early adopters of the sport in China. In 2011, US pilot Jeb Corliss winged his way through the giant Tianmen Hole in the Zhangjiajie mountains, marking the entrance of the sport into China.