Naqu Horse Racing Festival

Naqu Horse Racing Festival - Brief Introduction

Being the same with the other nomads, the Tibetan people are affectionate to horses. According to the legend, the horses were born by the god birds and monkeys or big fish. While riding horses, you do have the feeling of flying with the wind. The famous scholar, Sakyapandita, has ever said that, the dress up of horses should be more beautiful than that of the masters. In northern Tibet, the shepherds know the specific significance of owning a good horse. The same as we human beings, the horses need glory, and Horse Raving Festival is the festival of the horses. In Tibetan language, the festival is also called Daqiong. Nagu Horse Racing Festival is a traditional festival in large scale of northern Tibet. The festival is held on Aug, 1st each year and the whole festival lasts for 5 t o15 days. The horse racing is an important and ancient tradition of recording and lasting the legend of the llano.The horse racing festival is an irreplaceable sight-seeing program for the tourists. The sections of Naqu and Anduo are the best places fro you to experience the life of the herdsmen of northern Tibet. What's more, the Nujiang River and Yangtze River may give you another different view.

Naqu Horse Racing Festival - Traditional Features

There is no doubt that Naqu is lively and beautiful most during the Horse Racing Festival. The festival is also the season of love and romance. Some people say that the horse racing festival is more important than the Tibetan New Year. Before the festival, herdsmen from far and near gather there, bringing tents with them, wearing bright-coloured national consumes and adorning treasured jewelries. Many tents cover the circumambience of the race track in one night, which even looks like a splendid city. When the race begins, the devotional horsemen should circle the giant stage of burning incense to show their respects and receive the great wish from Lama, which also can be regarded as the debut of the handsome herdsmen and the well-decorated horses. The audience stand at the sideway, and the whoop and acclaim of them commingle with the horse sound, lasting for a long time. All these are the express of the enthusiastic affective interaction between the bold and unconstrained herdsmen, sky and earth.

Naqu Horse Racing Festival - The Classification

The race schedule is not the same, most of which is about 10 kilometers. According to the age of the players, the race can be classified in children and adults' race, while according to the content of the race, it includes archery on the horse, target practice, athletics, spurting, picking up hada on the horse and offering barley wine. There are no serious judgment rules in Naqu or the whole Tibet. The forms are free and with deep feeling of performance. But the names of the horses which take the crown spread over the grass in a minute and the reputation of the horses are even better than the masters. The horses with the names of the star of the world, the black lightening and the eagle on the grassland are recorded in the legend and eulogized everywhere by people. The horses expected to take the crown are taken good care of before the winter comes, and they are fed with the best forage and bathed everyday. Generally, a good horse may cause a family or even the whole village to be busy with it.