China Archery

The Naqu Horse Racing Fair is a grand local festival in the grasslands of northern Tibet Autonomous Region. It is usually held in August when the pasture is lush and the horses are strong. Every year, the week long event attracts hundreds of herdsmen as well as tourists to enjoy the festive mood.

Of course, the event includes horse racing, but there are also archery competitions, picking up hada (a type of long silk scarf), and displays of traditional horsemanship.

Herdsmen begin training their horses one month ahead of the competition. To some of them, the horses are even more important than their lives. On the Northern Tibet Plateau, horse racing is a tradition that enjoys a long history. The fair also included dancing performances and opportunities for business and trade.

Source: CNTV.CN

On 4 August 2010, the new Guinness World Records™ accomplishment for the largest archery tournament was set in Balaga’ergaole Town, Xiwuzhumuqin County, Inner Mongolia, China. 1,024 archers took part in the tournament, breaking the previous record of 332.

The competition was organized by the People’s Government of Xiwuzhuuqin County. The participants were from Xiwuzhumuqin county and nearby regions. The opening ceremony of the archery tournament was held on 3 August 2010. At the opening ceremony, the archers gave an archery demonstration after which the competition started. During the 2-day competition, 1,024 participants took part.

As the attempt adhered to the guidelines of Guinness World Records™, Adjudicator Angela Wu announced the attempt a success and presented the official certificate to the organizer.

This is the third Guinness World Record™ record set by Xiwuzhumuqin County. The record for the largest Mongolian wrestling tournament and most runners in a horse race were set in the same place in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

By Angela Wu

The First International Traditional Archery Invitational Tournament named “Colorful Magic Arrow Cup” (in Chinese, called “Wu-Cai- Shen-Jian-Bei”), will be held from Sep. 8 to 11 in Jianzha County of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Qinghai Province, released at the press conference held in the State Council Information Office on Aug.10.

Earlier this year, to enhance the skills and culture of traditional archery of Tibetan ethnic group, the International Traditional Archery Tournament in Qinghai Province was approved by the General Administration of Sport of China.

Jointly sponsored by Chinese Archery Association,Qinghai Bureau of Sport, Qinghai TV Station and the local government of Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,the tournament aims to build up a communication platform for the archery enthusiasts at home and abroad.

Eight national-level teams from Beijing,Inner Mongolia, Jiangsu, Yunnan, Sichuan, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), Xinjiang and Gansuas well as 15 provincial-level teams were invited to the competition. In addition, six international archery teams from Mongolia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Australia will also join in the contest.

All the participants will have the opportunity to enjoy archery contest while appreciate the original charm of this traditional sport event, which is expected to boost the economic development of Jianzha County as well as international exchanges.

By: Kristen Zhang, from: China Tibet Information Center