Despite a rare drought, the Barhu Grassland of the Hulun Buir League in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region held Tuesday the opening ceremony of a grand-scale festival, called "Nadam" in Mongolian.

Nadam, which means "entertainment and games," has a tradition of more than 700 years. During the event, horse racing, archery and Mongolian wrestling are the three major activities.

Track and field events, ball sports, art performances and photo shows are also included in this year's Nadam, which was jointly sponsored by the autonomous regional tourism bureau and the government of Hulun Buir League, said a local tourism official.

At the opening ceremony, the audience's attention was captured by a herd of cows selected as the best milk producers in the region, with the champion's annual output of 7,600 kilograms. Also marching in the opening show were delegations in native costumes from China, Russia, the Republic of Korea and Mongolia.

Magistrate Lian Ji told Xinhua that his League is determined to develop milk, meat, grass and the related industries as the pillar sectors of modern animal husbandry.

Herdsmen were delighted to witness the display of a lot of devices and equipment recently development in the dairy industry.

Such festivals are normally held throughout the grasslands in summer or autumn, when flowers are blooming, the grass is green, and the cattle and sheep are well-fed, the signal of a good harvest.

(Xinhua News Agency 07/10/2001)