Horse Racing Festival – Yushu
Meaning
Less important than Litang’s, the Yushu festival usually takes place in the last week of August.
Many Tibetans who have kept their nomadic way of life gather occasionally. It is a necessity and a social and economic pleasure for them. The end of July and the beginning of August are usually chosen for its meetings, when the climate is at its best and the flowers hatch.
They are intended to allow people to meet their relatives and distant families as well as to make new acquaintances.
Tibetans sometimes say, “For young people, this festival is the best time to meet people and start a love story.” Children who are away from their parents by their life in the city or monastery, spend an intense moment of sharing and conviviality.
This is an opportunity to sell its production (art, meat, vegetables, butter …) and get what you will need to spend the next winter with the money collected.
What are the festivities?
Like Litang’s, the heart of this festival are horse racing. On the margins of the latter, there are dances, songs, popular games and great fairs for animals and objects of all kinds.