Lhasa holds horse race to boost traditional sports

LHASA, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Pema Yiten, a rider from Nagqu City, was riding his brown horse with light racing clothes at the horse racing field on Tuesday in Lhundrup County, Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.

The 39-year-old rider leaned close to the horseback and swirled his whip in the air as he and his horse made the final sprint.

Recently, various areas in the region have welcomed the Wanggo Festival, a traditional harvest festival here and a national-level intangible cultural heritage. The date of the festival varies depending on the time when crops mature in different areas. Horse racing competitions are held during the festival.

Horse racing is one of the most beloved and widespread sports among the Tibetan people, with a history spanning over a thousand years, and is an integral part of Tibetan culture and the region's unique sporting business.

"Many people also come to Nagqu, at an altitude of over 4,500 meters, for horse racing. There are often horse racing exchanges and competitions between our pastoral areas," said Pema Yiten, who won the championship in his group.

"The tradition of horse racing during the festival has been around since my childhood and I got my own horse six years ago," said Champ, a 43-year-old villager here, who grew up on horseback. "During the race, we tie the horse's mane into a braid on its head and insert eagle feathers, hoping that the horse will run extremely fast."

Outside the field, a sea of people gathered, with rows of Tibetan tents behind them. Lhadron, a local villager, was cheering for the galloping horses with her 8-year-old daughter. All seven members of her family had come to watch the horse racing, she said.

"We are celebrating the Wanggo Festival here, and the horse racing has been fantastic," said Dawa, a citizen who came to watch the horse race from the city of Lhasa. "Horses from all over the region are participating."

The horse racing competitions are not only held to celebrate the Wanggo Festival and the harvest but also to preserve and inherit the horse racing culture, and to enrich the sports life of the locals, said Gangchung, head of the local government. ■