Naqu horse racing festival

Like many nomadic peoples in the world, kurama has deep feelings. Legend has it that a horse is a combination of a god bird in the sky and a monkey on the ground (a big fish in the lake). Flying against the wind is really wonderful when riding a horse and whipping. Panditha, a Tibetan scholar, also said: Dressing as a rider is more beautiful than being a master. In northern Tibet, herders know exactly what it means to have a good horse. Like people, horses need glory. Therefore, the horse racing festival can also be said to be a horse festival. Especially in the pastoral area, it has experienced a long year of sunshine and wind. Of course, the origin of horse racing goes far beyond this. But the story of Gesar, who once made a fortune, welcoming back the beauty must be one of the reasons. Horse racing is an important and ancient tradition to write and continue grassland legends.

No matter in that respect, that song during the horse racing festival in August is the most festive and beautiful. There is no doubt that the horse racing festival is also a season of love. Euphemistic Han people are used to seeing it as "romance". Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that people in pastoral areas attach more importance to the horse racing festival than the Tibetan New Year. Before the Horse Racing Festival, herders from all over Fiona Fang, hundreds of kilometers away, marched all the way on the grassland like a sea of flowers with tents, gorgeous national costumes and their own jewels. Overnight, the Naqu Jockey Club was crowded with tents until it became a spectacular "city". Material exchange, cultural performances, various folk sports such as tug-of-war, long jump, bow and other religious-related activities have made this city truly famous.

In the official competition, devout riders should circle around the huge incense burner to show their respect and accept the blessings of the highly respected lamas. This can be seen as the emergence of heroic riders and newly dressed horses. The shouts and cheers of the audience on both sides of the racecourse resounded through the sky and lasted for a long time in the process of urging the horses to gallop. This is the most passionate emotional exchange between the rough and unconstrained herders and heaven and earth.

The length of the horse racing festival varies, mostly around 10 km. According to the age of players, there are children, adults and other categories. According to the content of the competition, it is divided into archery, shooting, competition, short track sprint, catching Hada immediately, offering highland barley wine and so on. Sometimes it includes walking in Marseilles like dressage. All kinds of novel and interesting horse racing activities will make the audience linger. The horse racing in Naqu and even the whole Tibetan area will not have a strict and unified referee system, with a relatively free form and a strong sense of performance. However, the name of the champion horse will soon spread all over the grassland, and its reputation will even go far beyond its owner. These precious horses named after "Star of the World", "Black Lightning" and "Prairie Eagle" entered stories and legends because of their good rankings. Looking forward to winning the championship, the racehorses entered the aftercare as early as winter, and the racers got the best feed and took care of Ma Mu without hesitation every day. Often a good horse can affect the happiness and busyness of a family or even a village.

The ancient and prestigious Naqu Horse Racing Festival is an irreplaceable tourism project in northern Tibet. Visitors who choose to travel to Tibet in summer must not miss it. Naqu and Amdo are the best places to experience the life of herders in northern Tibet. In addition, the source of the Nujiang River, the Yangtze River and other big rivers is in this area, which allows you to appreciate the beauty of mountains and rivers after appreciating the uniqueness of herder culture.