Inner Mongolia to host 2nd China Horse Culture Festival

The vast expanses of Inner Mongolia’s grassland, famous for its fertile pasture and nomadic herdsmen, will play host to racehorses and jockeys this summer when the local government launches an equine festival with dozens of racing competitions.

The second China Horse Culture Festival and the inaugurating Inner Mongolia International Horse Culture Expo are scheduled to be held in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region from June to September.

The festival’s main venue will be in Hohhot, the regional capital; another will be in Xilin Gol League. Other regional cities and leagues in the region will also participate by holding various horse-related tourism activities. 

The four-month festival includes 56 activities in eight categories, including opening and closing ceremonies, forums and lectures, racing tournaments, art performances, exhibitions, publications, and others. (More details below.) 

The festival is devoted to mapping the world horse industry landscape and China’s horse industry strategy. Various activities are arranged to make it an international, comprehensive and dynamic festival, and to promote Inner Mongolia as a national horse culture demonstration area and Hohhot an iconic city of world horse culture. 

The festival is sponsored by the China Horse Industry Association and various local authorities, including the Publicity Department of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee, the culture and tourism bureau of the autonomous region, the sports bureau of the autonomous region, as well as the municipal governments of Hohhot and Xilin Gol League.

Details on the festival’s major events are provided here for your reference:

1. Opening and closing ceremonies

The opening ceremony, in the main venue in Hohhot, will show the achievements of the horse industry in Inner Mongolia, China and the world at large. The ceremony will feature stunning artistic performances aided by audio-visual effects.

The closing ceremony will summarize and review the activities of the Festival through creative programs and performances. The festival’s outstanding horses and creative works will be displayed.

2. Forums and lectures

The 2019 World Horse Culture Forum, themed on “Chinese horse culture and world horse civilization”, will cover the topics of protection and inheritance of horse cultures and industry, and integrating and promoting different horse cultures of various countries. Representatives from more than 40 countries and over ten international organizations as well as guests from all walks of life in China will be invited. At the closure of the event, the Hohhot Declaration of the World Horse Culture Forum will be released, with a proposal to establish the World Horse Culture Association so as to promote Hohhot as an iconic city of world horse culture.

Public lectures will also be held to promote Mongolian horse culture.

3. Racing tournaments

During the festival, 32 horse races will be staged across the region, in Hohhot and Xilin Gol League as well as 11 other cities and leagues in Inner Mongolia. These include 14 international and national competitions, such as the 2019 Belt and Road China Speed Horse Racing Open Tournament, the 2019 International Equestrian Endurance Race, the Chinese National Grand Prix Finals, the Chinese National Grand Prix Horse Endurance Race Finals, the National Junior Jumper Championships, the Belt and Road Grand Prix (Inner Mongolia as the first stop), the Belt and Road Polo Open Tournament and the National Equestrian/Eventing Championship; five traditional competitions such as the Mongolian Horse Race of Champions, the Traditional Mongolian Horse Endurance Race, and the Mongolian Horse Dressage Competition; and 13 other competitions, among them the Inner Mongolia Speed Horse Grand Prix Finals, the Tour of 11 Leagues and Cities of Inner Mongolia, and the Inner Mongolia Junior Equestrian Exchange Activity.

4. Art performances

Stage performances: A number of shows will be staged at the festival, including Qiangu Masong, a drama about the life of ethnic Mongolian groups and their relationships with horses, the cultural drama Cavalryman, and Turandot, one of the 10 most famous operas performed by the Central Conservatory of Music. National and local ethnic symphony orchestras from across the country will be invited to hold concerts themed on “Experiencing China”.

Outstanding artworks showcased at the China Shanghai International Arts Festival will be available for viewing at the festival.

The festival will also feature the first international matouqin music festival and invite well-known circuses and horse masters to give performances for children that celebrate Mongolian horses and their diligence, perseverance, courage, loyalty, and kindness. 

Films and TV plays: The festival will screen horsed-related films and broadcast original TV plays and online audio-visual programs.

Art performances for the public good: The festival plans to organize a diverse range of shows to promote the spirit of Mongolian horses for the benefits of people living in rural areas, residential communities, companies, schools, and armies. 

5. Exhibitions

The festival will feature exhibitions such as the Horse Culture and Art Exhibition, the Mongolian Horse Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition, the Mongolian and Chinese Calligraphy Exhibition, the Thematic Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition on Harness, Accessories, the Mongolian Costume as well as the Mongolian horse, and also the “Belt and Road” Horse Culture and Horse Products Exhibition, the horseback-wedding photo exhibition. In addition, new multimedia approaches will be used to create a radiant light show.

6. Publication

Research findings on the history and development of the horse industry will be compiled and published. Book series such as Interpretations of the Mongolian Horse Spirit will be published, as will the second volume of The Horse Industry in Belt and Road Countries. The Blue Book on the Development of the Chinese Horse Industry will also be compiled. Works of art on Mongolian horses, including movies, TV shows, cartoons, literature, vocal music, instrumental music, singing and dancing, and paintings, will be collected as well.

7. Others

A website will be created to promote Mongolian horse culture and stream videos about Inner Mongolian herdsmen.

Cultural events, such as the Year of Partner Countries, the International Horse Beauty Contest, the International Horse Image Ambassador Contest, and the annual “Biggest Contributor to the Development of the Chinese Horse Industry” competition, will be held. Other events include a prairie-themed wedding festival for youth, a horse culture-themed poetry competition, an Inner Mongolian food festival, as well as other activities that involve many celebrities and renowned horses.