Horse racers take part in archery competitions.
Linzhou County Internet celebrity Gongga Langjie who participated in the horse racing festival.
Local people perform Tibetan opera.
Chong Xu Ma (Tibetan for "toaster") sings, toasts, and toasts tea for the riders.
The masses of Linzhou County celebrate the "Wangguo Festival".
Tibetan opera performers in costumes.
Competitors perform an equestrian show.
Competitors participating in the Horse Racing Festival. Photo courtesy of Linzhou County Rong Media Center
In summer, Linzhou County has green grass, picturesque scenery, and fragrant barley, and also ushered in the most lively festival in the busy agricultural season - "Wangguo Festival". The "Wangguo Festival" is a national intangible cultural heritage and a traditional festival for the Tibetan people to celebrate a bumper harvest, with a history of more than 1,500 years. At this time, the local people will put on festive costumes, celebrate the annual "Wangguo Festival", enjoy theatrical performances, watch horse races, celebrate the harvest, sing praises of a better life, and pray for good weather and good weather, national peace and security, abundant harvest, and good luck.
Lin Zhou, translated into Tibetan as "naturally formed fertile soil", is known as "the back garden of Lhasa" and "the granary of Lhasa", the natural fertile soil divides Linzhou County into two special landforms, grassland and cultivated land, which have nurtured many Lin Zhou people. Linzhou County is located in the northeast of Lhasa City, 65 kilometers away from the downtown, with an administrative area of 4,460 square kilometers, the county has jurisdiction over 9 townships and 1 town, 46 administrative villages, and 189 villager groups.
The "Wangguo Festival" held by various towns and villages in Linzhou County every year is rich in content, including traditional horse racing, equestrian performances, singing and dancing performances and other activities.
At the site of the "Wangguo Festival" in Dangjie Village, Bianjiaolin Township, with the passionate "March of the Athletes", the "Pingcuo Lin Wangguo Festival" activity in Dangjie Village kicked off, and 38 equestrian athletes and 38 archers entered the scene in the cheers of more than 20,000 spectators.
With the beginning of the competition, the horses' hooves are galloping, the dirt is flying, and the arrows are not missing; The sound of gongs and drums, shouts, and cheers came and went......
It is reported that horse racing is a traditional celebration of the "Wangguo Festival" (horse racing festival) held in various parts of Tibet to celebrate the harvest, and it is one of the most popular and widely spread sports among the masses. As a traditional festival with a long history, the "Wangguo Festival" is held every year in Jiarong Village, Linzhou County.
The number of riders participating in the horse race in Karong Village is usually 30 to 32, and on the day of the "Wangguo Festival", all the riders led by the village prayer staff will march around the village's farmland to pray for a good harvest.
Before the race, the villagers performed a simmering ceremony at the front of the track, at which point the riders ran an empty lap again. Yasuo (team leader) was last on the run, and Yasuo was in the first row on the return. After the empty run, the horse race officially begins, and the riders are required to shoot arrows on the back of a fast running horse with bows and arrows, and in order to ensure fairness, two people are responsible for counting the archery at each target. At the end of the race, the riders will dismount and form a circle to sing songs, toast and tea for the riders, and the village committee will reward the riders according to the number of targets they have taken, and offer Hada.
After the race, the riders perform an equestrian show with light equipment. Superb equestrianism, flexible posture, and colorful performances feast the eyes of the audience.
"Horse racing in our hometown is fantastic. Although my family moved to Lhasa from Qiangga Township, Linzhou County, my family and I return to Linzhou every year to celebrate the harvest with the villagers. Medorazze, a 62-year-old villager, said.
This year, the "Wangguo Festival" held by the villages of Linzhou County is deeply loved by the masses of people on the Internet, and the bright smiling faces of the people can feel the joy and happiness of the scene through the mobile phone screen. Many fans left messages that they missed Lin Zhou's "Wangguo Festival" this year, and they must be included in the itinerary in advance next year.