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Shangri-La Horse Racing Festival takes place on the 5th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Each year the festival is the same date as the Dragon Boat Festival. The 2018 Shangri-La Horse Racing Festival took place at Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in China's Yunnan province. Tibetans from Daocheng, Litang, Batang and Derong also take part in the festival. Apart from the traditional equestrian competitions a number of activities are held including wrestling, yak racing and many more.
The festival which lasted three days had 21 teams from Yunnan and Sichuan Province competing. With over 200 horses in the competition, the horses are separated into three categories which are mixed race, ameliorated horse race and the ethnic style horse race. This festival is one of the most important for local Tibetans and is like a grand rally for locals.
During the horse racing, locals wear colorful long-sleeved robes and hats. The horse racing fesitval is an intangible cultural heritage in Yunnan and one of the most important traditional ethnic festivals in Shangri-La. Shangri-La was once a key part of the Ancient Tea Horse Road.
