Chamdo Festivals and Events
Tibetan Festivals are traditionally based on lunar calendar. Most of the Tibetan festivals on the Tibetan plateaus are deeply influenced by Buddhism or rich ancestral culture. During the festivals, all the people wear traditional costume and perform different traditional dances and ritual activities. Festival is the best way to experience the diverse culture and tradition of the local and their ethnic affinity.
Festivals in Qamdo
1. Tibetan New Year
The Tibetan calendar is a calendar created by the Tibetan people and has a history of more than 1,000 years. On New Year's Day, people bring their offerings and highland barley wine to their own crops to sacrifice the Harvest Goddess. Everyone in the ground set up a long pole, hanging streamer on the top of the pole, and wheat straw bound on the lower. People build an altar in front of the pole, and then simmering mulberry, singing, dancing, begging the Harvest Goddess a booming harvest. There are lots of New Year entertainments. From the beginning of the second day, the men take part in horse racing and archery, the arrow is a wooden cone drilled a lot of holes, when arrows are taken away from the string, people begin dancing and drinking around the campfire.
2. Zhongque Festival仲确节
In Kham, there is a festival which has a long history and a wide range of influence, undoubtedly that is "Zhongque Festval". "Zhongqie Festival", means trade fair, which is a traditional trade-based festival. It is held on June 15 of the Tibetan calendar every year for one month. This set of activities, such as transactions, outing and Kora began in 1326 AD. So far, it has nearly 700 years of history.
3. Salye Festival
It is held between May and June in Tibet calendar every year. During the festival, Qamdo people would like to have a picnic outside the downtown and enjoy the performances.
4. Horse Racing Festival
Horse Racing Festival will be held in Jomda, Gonjo, Zhagyab and Baxoi of Qamdo Prefecture from May to June every year in Tibetan calendar. It is in honor of the hero of Gesa King who won the horse racing.
Activities in Qamdo
Chambaling Monastery was first built in 1444 and the largest monastery of Gelug sect in Qamdo area. The main buildings in the Monastery are well-preserved, Buddhist statues, murals and Thangka are exquisite. The most interesting thing to see is its god dance, a kind of divine dance performs during the annual Butter Fower Festival酥油花节(in Tibetan New Year). This is a kind of god dance that enjoys great fame in Tibet plateau.
2. Ranwu Lake
'Ranwu' means a lake like goat's milk in Tibetan language. In the north side of Ranwu Lake, there is the famous Laigu Glacier, whose snow water will pour into the lake to keep it clear and rich.
Tours including Ranwu Lake
10 Days Eastern Tibet Photography Tour
12 Days Hongkong to Tibet Tour with Chengdu City Highlights
10 Days Eastern Tibet Scenery Tour to Nyingchi
3. Karub Ruins
The Karuo cultural relic was discovered in the late 1970s. In 1977, a large number of stone axes, adzes, pottery pots and other primitive tools and artifacts were discovered. The excavation began in 1979. The site covers an area of about 10,000 square meters, with a wide variety of cultural relics. Among them, 31 house sites have been found, thousands of stone tools, bone objects and pottery pieces have been unearthed, as well as a large number of animal bones and corn. Experts identified these items from the "Neolithic period" between 4,000 and 5000 years ago.
The discovery of the Karub ruins brought the history of Tibet forward to about 5000 years ago. It is of epoch-making significance to the history and archaeology of Tibet, and has been recognized by archaeologists and paleoanthropologists as one of the three major primitive cultural sites in Tibet.
