Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Ren Jiang) news: Can Buzkashi (horseback competition for possession of a goat), beloved by people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang and tourists alike, become as popular as events like the "Village Super League" (VSL) or "Village BA"? At the third session of the 13th Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Xie Shuqing, a regional CPPCC member and secretary of the Xinjiang Agricultural University Committee of the CPC, and Yao Xinkui, director of the Horse Industry Institute at Xinjiang Agricultural University, proposed creating a cultural event brand of Buzkashi with Xinjiang's unique characteristics.

Photo taken on the afternoon of January 18, 2025 shows Yao Xinkui makes statements at a group meeting of the third session of the 13th Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Urumqi, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Ma Xiaolong)

Buzkashi, as a national intangible cultural heritage, is highly favored by people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. In various cultural and tourism activities across Xinjiang, Buzkashi competitions or performances are often seen. This activity combines the spectator appeal of sports competition with the participatory enjoyment of leisure entertainment, making it popular among locals and attracting a large number of tourists from other regions to come and experience it. In recent years, some localities have even developed Buzkashi with snow as a winter sports competition and a folk performance for ice and snow tourism.

In 2024, the Xinjiang Horse Industry Association held a Buzkashi competition for Ili horse performance measurement. The event lasted three months and included 10 preliminary rounds and one final round held in six prefectures and cities: Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, Hotan Prefecture, Urumqi City, and Karamay City. A total of 80 teams, over 800 participants, and more than 800 Ili horses took part in the competition. The event attracted over 2.34 million online viewers and more than 200,000 offline spectators. During the final round held in Qilewuzeke Town, Tekes County, the on-site audience reached over 50,000 people, which significantly boosted local guesthouse occupancy rates, sales of local specialties, and restaurant revenues.

"Buzkashi competitions not only contribute to the income growth of farmers and herdsmen, rural vitalization and tourism development, but also significantly boost exchanges and integration among people of all ethnic groups, further strengthening the sense of community for the Chinese nation. Through standardized competitions, athletes from different ethnic groups exchange skills and share experiences in the breeding, training and conditioning of Ili horses. This effectively improves the athletes' skills and the quality of Ili horses, and consequently, the market price of excellent Ili horses has increased," said Yao.

In light of this, the two members of the 13th Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the CPPCC proposed that relevant departments of the autonomous region include Buzkashi competitions in relevant plans such as cultural tourism, sports events, and horse improvement, and provide preferential support in terms of policies, funds, and projects to jointly create a branded Buzkashi event in Xinjiang. At the same time, the cultural, tourism, and sports departments of relevant prefectures and cities should organically integrate Buzkashi competitions with local tourism festivals, enrich festival content, highlight local characteristics, and develop characteristic tourism.

Yao noted that Buzkashi is also highly popular among local residents in Central Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. He suggested organizing regional international Buzkashi invitation tournaments to use the sport as a bridge for enhancing interactions with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. Through the platform of Buzkashi events, Xinjiang can reach out to the world, and the world can get to know Xinjiang better.

"Combining Buzkashi competitions with the cultural and tourism resources across Xinjiang holds the promise of creating a uniquely characteristic branded event exclusive to Xinjiang. It has the potential to become a widely popular and renowned mass sports event in Xinjiang. This will further enhance the visibility and influence of Xinjiang's cultural tourism both nationally and internationally," said Xie.

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