A Village Super League horse racing event was held in Baotou City, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to celebrate the Duanwu or Dragon Boat Festival, blending athletic competition with nomadic culture in a place where boat racing is scarce.

The annual festival on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar Chinese calendar fell on Saturday this year, when it started a three-day holiday. It is a time to get rid of misfortune as venomous animals were believed to appear at this juncture. It is also a time to commemorate the beloved Chinese poet Qu Yuan (339-278 BC) from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). 

The tournament in Damao Banner of Baotou featured three distinct race categories, speed horses, ambling horses, and leopard-spotted Appaloosas, with 63 riders from 14 teams riding 120 horses through four grueling laps of a 1,600-meter circular track.

As starting gates flew open, riders burst forth like arrows, their mounts' pounding hooves syncing with roaring crowds. Particularly captivating were the junior jockeys in the under-1.4-meter speed races, whose small statures belied their fearless, whip-cracking sprints to the finish line.

Beyond the main events, visitors immersed themselves in cultural exchanges, from sheep shearing demonstrations to camel rides and folk games, offering urban children rare hands-on experiences with nomadic lifestyles. The festival's successful fusion of heritage and modern sports tourism has become a model in promoting regional cultural-ecological development, drawing visitors from across the country to Inner Mongolia's vast grasslands.