A horse-racing event held on Feb 13 in Pingding county, Yangquan, to celebrate the Lantern Festival. [Photo/Yangquan Daily] 

Xiadongzhai village in Pingding county, Yangquan, hosted a spectacular horse-racing event on Feb 13 to celebrate the Lantern Festival. 

This event is a significant part of the local Spring Festival customs. It encompasses rituals, prayers, and folk performances, preserving the unique traditions characterized by local folk beliefs. In 2021, it was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage item. 

In addition to the horse-racing event, the village organized an Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) fair, showcasing various traditional crafts, such as paper cutting, gourd pyrography, purple clay works, dough figurines, and wood carving. 

A horse-racing event held on Feb 13 in Pingding county, Yangquan, to celebrate the Lantern Festival. [Photo/Yangquan Daily]

Visitors also had the opportunity to engage in interactive activities such as clay sculpture, fabric art, woodblock pyrography, paper cutting, and stone painting. 

This custom lasts about 40 days, from the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month to the second day of the second lunar month the following year. It reaches its peak and most spectacular phase during the Lantern Festival. 

Originating from a Tang Dynasty (618-907) garrison, this tradition is one of the local area's most grandiose folk activities. The horse-racing event serves as a folk performance and a way for people to pray for national peace, bountiful harvests, and prosperity.

A horse-racing event in Pingding county, Yangquan, on Feb 13 to celebrate the Lantern Festival. [Photo/Yangquan Daily]