Sichuan festival showcases Tibetan horsemanship at its best

The 2025 Litang "Da Ye" Horse Racing and Cultural Tourism Festival kicked off on Wednesday in Litang county, Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Sichuan province, attracting teams from various townships in the county to stage traditional equestrian performances.

The performances include handstands on horseback, hiding under the horse's belly, and picking up hada scarves at full gallop — all hallmarks of Tibetan horsemanship.

The festival, which will run through September, also features fierce horse racing and equestrian competitions, as well as cultural and artistic performances.

The time-honored Litang Horse-racing Festival was included in Sichuan's intangible cultural heritage list in 2008. Litang was awarded the title of "Hometown of Tibetan Horse-racing Culture in China" in 2019 by the China Folk Literature and Art Association.