Winter Festival in Inner Mongolia

The winter season in Inner Mongolia lasts 7 months, with picturesque silver and white views of the vast grasslands, rolling mountains, staggered rivers, lakes and deserts coming together to create a breathtaking view.

1. Winter Nadam Fair

Nadam is a traditional Mongolian festival where people celebrate harvests and pray for good luck. It is usually held throughout the pastoral areas in the summer or winter, with a history of more than 700 years.

The Winter Nadam Fair features traditional Mongolian performances and sports contests such as horse riding and archery, despite the bitter cold of -20℃.

2. Festival of Coldness

Hulunbuir League, located at the northernmost of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is recognized as the coldest village in China, with the average temperature of -5.3℃, while the lowest temperature is -58℃.

In Lengji Village, tourists can enjoy organic homemade food and wine, sleep on firewood-heated brick beds and ride sleighs pulled by reindeers or horses. Tourists can experience distinctive shamanic culture while enjoying the fantastic winter scenery of primitive forests. In the snow-blanketed village, Santa Claus and his reindeer might appear on Christmas Day.

3.Camel Fair

While most urban dwellers celebrate winter with ice-skating on public squares, herdsman from the vast grassland of Inner Mongolia express their appreciation of the season with something much more spectacular – a camel festival.

The camel fair creates a local version of a winter wonderland for the local ethnic community. The annual event aimed at promoting traditional folklore as well as celebrating the winter season, includes camel racing, horse racing, a camel beauty pageant and cultural exhibitions related to the animal.

4.Winter Fishing Festival

Winter fishing has been a tradition of Elunchun ethnic group with a thousand years of history. The fish harvest begins in late December usually. In recent years, winter fishing as a tourism business usually starts when the temperature goes as low as -20℃. A River God Sacrifice Ceremony is often held before the fishing festival begins. Fishermen wait after putting the net in the ice-covered lake while various ongoing folk performances showcase Elunchun culture to the tourists.