Diqing Festivals and Events

The festivals in Diqing are as follows:

Kuoshi Festival of Lisu ethnic group;

Horse Racing Festival of Tibetan ethnic group;

Kangbu Temple Fair of Lisu people;

Tibetan New Year Festival

About Horse Racing Festival in Shangri-la:

The annual Tibetan Horse Racing Festival will be held in Shangri-la County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

This event falling on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar will run from May 28 to 30, during which the Dragon Boat Festival is also celebrated.In these days, all transportation vehicles have to give way on the streets of Shangri-la, which will soon become a sea of horses. Tibetan young girls will be seen dressed in their traditional costumes and young lads, valiant and spirited, ride horses adorned with fine saddles and reins.

In history, as those nomadic Tibetans often migrated from one place to another, they would make all their valuables into gorgeous dress ornaments for portable convenience. That is why a traditional costume today might worth tens of thousands of yuan and serves best the festivity in the purely pastoral areas.The competition venue chosen is Mt. Wufeng, holy for Tibetans in the neighborhood, towering to the height of 3,288 m.

The most wonderful, also the most difficult part of the event is "to pick up Hada (a white silk scarf symbolizing good luck in the Tibetan language) on the horseback." It requires excellent horsemanship and marvelous rider-horse coordination. Some riders even perform stunts while speeding off, like riding conversely, lying decumbent or standing on the horseback. Winners will be rewarded for themselves and earn glory for their villages.

Besides the competition in equitation, riding skill and riding speed, activities such as folk theatrical performance and ethnic dressing show will also feast the visitors'eyes

Shangri-La Horse Racing festival with a long history is the most solemn traditional folk festival for the Shangri-La County residents of all nationalities, and a grand rally for Tibetans in the spring. Currently the horse racing festival has developed into a national sporting competition and an exchange event of folk activities. It is held normally around the Dragon Boat Festival in the lunar calendar, usually lasting 3 days and in Fengshan Horse Racing field.

During the horse racing festival, in addition to the traditional equestrian competitions and performances, other programs like yak racing, ox-drawn bars are very rarely seen. Players and performers are not only from the local grassland, but also from adjacent counties like Kangmang, Xiangcheng, Daocheng, Litang, Batang and Derong. During the holiday, the whole family of local residents would travel out and set tents at the foot of the mountain, having a picnic and holding banquets. The horse racing always attracts people to gathe.