A richly colorful pageant excites the crowd at the opening ceremony for the 6th Inner Mongolia International Equestrian Festival and the 23th Jirem Horse Racing Festival. It was held in Tongliao, a city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Aug 18. [Photo/people.com.cn]

Exciting performances and colorful pageants were the order of the day at the opening ceremony for the 6th Inner Mongolia International Equestrian Festival and the 23rd Jirem Horse Racing Festival – which was held in Tongliao, a city in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Aug 18.

The Jirem Horse Racing Festival has been held 22 times since its first session in 1995. It is one of the three major festivals staged in Inner Mongolia. It is also an event that showcases the rich cultural characteristics of the Mongolian minority peoples, as well as being a traditional festival for all the ethnic groups in Tongliao, and a grand occasion to display the charms of the local Horqin culture.

At the opening ceremony, a series of thrilling performances were staged for the audience. That evening, a bonfire party featuring traditional songs and dance performances took place.

Horse riders dazzle spectators with their skills at the opening ceremony on Aug 18. [Photo/people.com.cn]

According to local media reports, based on original equestrian competitions and traditional sports such as Mongolian wrestling -- also known as Bokh -- this year's festival is featuring a comprehensive series of folk cultural activities.

The activities -- such as evening bonfire, folk songs and dance performances, as well as exhibitions on intangible culture heritage (ICH) and cultural creative product -- aim to demonstrate skills and talents of the local minority cultures.

According to the event schedule, on Aug 18-20, competitions of horse racing, Bokh, archery, Mongolian chess and other events will be held and on Aug 18-26, activities including a local ICH products exhibition will be held.