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Horse Festival
What's On: Tens of thousands of herdsmen in their holiday best go camping
outside of Nagqu City. On the vast expanse of grassland are scattered many
camps, lasting several miles. After a grand opening ceremony, various recreational
and trade activities will start, such as horserace, yak race, tug of-war,
carrying rocks, doing sgor-gzhas (Tibetan group dance), and performing Tibetan
operas.
The Horse racing festival held in Nagqu is the grandest of the racing
festivals and events held throughout Tibet each year. Dressed in traditional
military attire, the Tibetans proudly display their riding skills, attracting
enthusiastic crowds of locals and pilgrims. Lasting several days, many
songs, dances, and performances of Tibetan drama take place during the
festivities to celebrate the heroes of Tibet's past.
August is the peak season for Nagqu grasslands, with big wind and rain in
the night and shines bright at daytime. The annual grassland horse-racing
festival is held. There is a wide lawn at the north side of Nagqu. The local
people called this as "Zhong Yin Ka Duo" grassland. During the
horse-racing festival, there will be thousands of tents setting up on that
area.
It makes the grassland look like a small town. The horse racing festivals
and fairs are the traditional occasion for horse trade. The buying and selling
of horses at these fairs attracts Tibetans from near and far for celebrations
during the colorful week of activities.
Shigatse is the second largest town in Tibet. Shigatse has long been an
important trading town and administrative center. The main attraction in
Shigatse is Tashilhunpo Monastery, the seat of the Panchen Lama. Built in
1447 by a nephew of Tsong Khapa, the monastery once housed over 4000 monks.
Apart from a giant statue of the 27 meters high Maitreya Buddha, the monastery
is also famed for its Grand Hall, which houses the opulent tomb containing
85 kilograms of gold and masses of jewels of the forth Panchen Lama. The
temple is also famous for its gold and silver craftsmen, who still use traditional
techniques to craft gold and silver products. At the same time, there is
"resources exchange meeting held in Nagqu.
This is a large trading event with lots of rich people there. Their necks
and waists are full of jewelleries, and you will find all kinds of clothing.
That is the most convenient and economic time to visit and understand the
tradition of Nagqu in North Tibet.
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