Hulunbuir hosts traditional sports event

Athletes from the Daur ethnic group play boyikuo, or beikuo –– a traditional game similar to field hockey which can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The sport gradually disappeared during the reign of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), but Inner Mongolia’s Daur people kept the game alive. Nowadays, Daur Autonomous Banner of Morin Dawa is a designated national center for development of the sport. [Photo/Xinhua]

Performers demonstrate a bear-fighting dance, a cultural tradition of the Oroqen ethnic group, who are traditionally skilled hunters. During the dance, the performers howled like bears and squared up to each other as if to fight. [Photo/Xinhua]