news

hohhot, september 17, china news service, title: autumn "pastoral series" events take over, pastoralist players create a full atmosphere

author: aolan zhangwei

the afterglow of the summer nadam has not yet dissipated, and the 36-day autumn nadam takes over in an "n-th power" mode. the "three arts of men" (wrestling, archery, and horseback riding) are performed every day, and the "ulanmaodu autumn nadam", "health nadam", "sports nadam", "literary nadam" and other grand events are dazzling.

from summer to autumn, the "pastoral series" events have long since spread from pastoral areas to the entire country. led by pastoral players, the hearty sports and cultural feast has "maximized" the atmosphere.

on august 8, in xing'an league, inner mongolia, the wrestling competition at the grassland nadam attracted attention. photo by baoyin deliger

sanqiri, a mongolian girl born after 1995, and her boyfriend are the "fairy lovers" at the naadam festival. they met and fell in love at the 2023 naadam festival. since then, they have participated in the festival together every time there is a naadam festival.

from summer to autumn this year, sanqiri and her boyfriend have participated in about 60 nadam events. archery is their main activity, and they occasionally take a break from their busy schedule to show off their skills at the wrestling arena next door.

the grassland nadam is a traditional festival of the mongolian people. if the previous nadam was a grassland party for the surrounding herdsmen, then the current nadam is more like the grassland "olympic games", and the contestants pay more attention to the spirit of sports.

on september 14, in chifeng city, inner mongolia, herders at the archery event of the wengniute nadam festival were heroic. photo by mao fengquan

during the mid-autumn festival holiday, 65-year-old herder dabusilatu set out from his hometown of balinyou banner, chifeng city, and drove 140 kilometers to wengniute banner to participate in a grassland archery nadam. more than 500 contestants participated in the competition, including men and women, young and old, and more than 90% of them were herders.

dabusilatu is already a veteran in the nadam competition. he was a frequent participant in wrestling competitions when he was young, and has switched to archery in the past decade. "i love archery and i love participating in competitions on the grassland. i also joined the local archery association."

on august 24, xilin gol league, inner mongolia, herders showed off their skills in the horseback hada picking competition of the 2024 inner mongolia autonomous region mongolian horse super league. photo by baisha

bagena, a herdsman from abaga banner, xilin gol league, is a celebrity at the nadam festival. every year when the grassland turns green, he puts down his work, takes his bow and arrows, and "travels" across the grassland. it is common for him to travel thousands of kilometers back and forth, and sometimes he can only make do with a tent on the grassland at night. "i have no choice, participating in the competition is what i love."

"we restore the gradually disappearing production and life scenes on the grassland through sports competitions." jia meiyang grew up in a pastoral area and was once a grassland cavalryman. now retired, he is the chief referee of the nadam competition on the xilingol grassland.

in an interview with china news service, he said that nadam is not only a stage for herders to compete and show themselves, but also a model for cultural inheritance. "the grassland has a rich and colorful intangible culture. if it is only passed on through books and museums, it will be difficult to pass it on." (end)

source: china news network