The Camel Naadam kicks off in Inner Mongolia

World
Europe

01:02

The second Camel Naadam Fair, featuring camel racing, camelback archery, and camel polo, kicked off Thursday in Alxa Left Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region during the Winter Naadam Festival.

Around 10,000 camels with their jockeys gathered around from Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region to compete in this three-day event.

Naadam is an ancient Mongolian term that means "entertainment and gambling", shedding light on the Mongols' spiritual pursuits for freedom and power through a series of exciting events.

Camel racing is one of the most striking events during the winter celebration, which showcases speed, strength and herdsmen's skills.

A herdsman prepares to start a bonfire during the second Camel Naadam Fair in Alxa Left Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, December 27, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

The camel race included 2,000m, 5,000m, 8,000m and 4x2,000m relay races. The organizers also held a camel beauty contest and milking competition.

Herdsman Yun Xiangfu arrived here two days ago, in order to give his 10 red Bactrian camels a good rest.

"I lived 200 miles away, so I hired trucks to carry my camels and their forage. They are here for the camel beauty contest," Yun said.

A herdsman rides a camel to attend the second Camel Naadam Fair during Winter Nadam. /Xinhua Photo

Herdsmen gather to participate in the camel racing. /Xinhua Photo

People perform at the opening ceremony of the second Camel Naadam Fair. /Xinhua Photo

A herdsman leads a team of camels to participate the fair. /Xinhua Photo

Performers dance at the fair's opening ceremony. /Xinhua Photo

Known as the hometown of camels, Alxa League contained 116,000 camels, one-third of the country's total.

In the past decade, the league made efforts to protect camels' natural environment, as well as develop nutritious foods from camels' meat, milk, and blood.

The local husbandry industries have been developed and herdsmen's incomes have increased.

(Cover: Herdsmen perform during the 2nd Camel Naadam Fair in Alxa Left Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, December 27, 2018. /Xinhua Photo)

(With input from Xinhua)