YEARS ON INNER MONGOLIA
CHINA DAILY Wednesday, August 7, 2019 | 7Editor's note: As the People’s Republic of China prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Oct 1, China Daily is featuring a series of stories on the role regions have played in the country’s development and where they are today.
Horsemen follow in steppes of Genghis Khan
Breeders and racers are keeping alive the culture and history of the golden line of equines used by the conquering Mongol
By YUAN HUI
in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia,
and DU JUAN in Beijing
Moments before the flag waved to
start the race, the atmosphere was
tense. Dozens of horses and their rid-
ers milled around anxiously, jockey-
ing for position at the starting line.
Riders in traditional Mongolian
dress sized up their opponents as
their mounts kicked up dust. You
could hear the heavy breathing of
the horses as they stepped nervously
in high spirits. They wanted to run,
as their nomadic ancestors had
since before Genghis Khan, the
great Mongol ruler. The riders main-
tained tight control of the reins to
keep the animals behind the line.
Some of the horses shimmered
like gold as they maneuvered,
reflecting the color of the vast plains
of the Inner Mongolia autonomous
region at sunset. They are the breed
said to have been used by the
ancient warlord himself. The very
air seemed supercharged as the big
moment approached. Then, at last,
the flag fluttered and the horses
surged ahead, as if released by a
steel spring. Riders leaned forward
to stay in their saddles.
For Urjin, a 36-year-old herds-
man, the moment was electric. “I
could feel the power of my horse in
every movement,” he said. “And I
was as excited as he was.”
The horse race, held on July 14 in a
grazing district of Bayannur, a pre-
fecture-level city in the region’s
southwest, attracted more than 100
riders and 600 spectators. Riders
ranged in age from 12 to 60. The
crowd stood for a better view as the
horses took off. Some shouted
encouraging words.
Urjin had a good start on his gold-
en mount, finding himself in fifth or
sixth place as the pack of horses
thundered away in a cloud of dust.
He concentrated intently as other
riders tried to overtake him. His own
horse began closing the distance to
the leaders as he rounded the flag
marking the far end of the course
1,000 meters from the start. To com-
plete the race, riders would make
four 2,000-meter circuits — each one
the same length as the Kentucky
Derby in the United States.
The grueling 8,000 meters was a
testament to the endurance and
strength of the Mongolian horses
and the riders who have mastered
them for 20 centuries.
By the end of the second circuit,
Urjin had begun to catch up to the
leaders. For others, the blistering
pace was too much. A few horses
dropped out and some riders dis-
mounted. Urjin stormed ahead, con-
tinuing to gain ground through the
third and fourth circuits, and finish-
ing the race in second place.
His friend and riding coach, Bay-
angol — who had given him the
golden horse as a gift — came out to
greet him with smiles and cheers as
Urjin brought the animal to a canter
to calm and cool it.
Master of horses
Bayangol, 43, a horse racer and
breeder, organized the competition,
just as he has done many times over
the years. His whole life in Inner
Mongolia has been linked closely
with horses. They’re a family tradi-
tion. He raises the same golden
breed that propelled Genghis Khan
to fame.
Bayangol spoke approvingly of
Urjin’s performance.
“I gave him this horse because I
could read the affection in his eyes,”
Bayangol said. “He performed well
in the race. He is excellent.”
Bayangol, who also raises sheep,
swore 20 years ago that he would
never raise horses. It took too great a
toll on his emotions the first time he
was forced to sell the animals to pay
for his brother’s cancer treatments.
Physically tough though he is,
tears filled his eyes as he remem-
bered. “I’m the fourth kid in my fam-
ily, and we were poor. My brother
got cancer when he was only 29, so
the family decided to sell off the
horses for 800 yuan each,” Bayangol
said. “I clearly remember getting on
a mare and leading others to the
buyer’s trailer.
“I gently pulled out some of the
mane of my favorite horse and tied
the hair around my wrist as a
memento. I was so sad and said to
myself that I would never raise hors-
Urjin displays his horsemanship on a
white-spotted yellow horse at a race held
on July 14 in Bayannur, Inner Mongolia.
ZHANG HEPING / FOR CHINA DAILYes again because I cannot bear the
separation.”
Yet he has many good memories
as well. Raising horses as a child
with his family shaped him as an
adult.
He broke his vow briefly in 1997
when he picked up two ponies at a
time the region was experiencing a
severe drought. The animals’ moth-
ers had died and they needed help.
“I used a nursing bottle to feed
them and borrowed stallions to
mate with them when they were
mature. We had a strong emotional
connection. I never needed to use a
bridle or saddle to ride them. Selling
them broke my heart.”
Bayangol didn’t touch horses for
10 years after that. But then he mar-
ried Sarnaa, who has become his
cherished partner. His new father-
in-law gave him a white-spotted yel-
low horse, the most exalted breed in
Inner Mongolian tradition — the
war horse of Genghis Khan.
“If someone can raise these horses
well, he will have good luck and
secure his fortune,” Bayangol said. “I
was pretty nervous at first and
turned to older generations of expe-
rienced breeders to learn what I
needed to know about feeding. I got
baby white-spotted yellow horses
every year, which I considered great
luck.”
Now, Bayangol has more than 70
of the animals.
Qin Yu, head of the local associa-
tion dedicated to the white-spotted
yellow horses — and which spon-
sored the race — said there are
about 200 members, including Bay-
angol. “We founded the association
recently to protect the breed and
develop tourism around the horses,”
he said. The group plans to sponsor
more races and develop creative,
culturally based products in the
future.Extraordinary animals
Bayangol’s father was of Han eth-
nicity, and his mother was from the
Mongolian ethnic group. Both came
from families of herdsmen who had
long depended on horses for trans-
portation.
The climate and weather in the
region is harsh, with winds and dust
in the spring. There’s typically no
precipitation during 90 percent of
the days each year. Winters can be
bitingly cold, with lows reaching -
C. Scant relief comes in the rainy
season, from July to October.
“The harsh weather has made the
local horses different from other
types in other places in the world,”
Bayangol said. “Our horses are
accustomed to tough living condi-
tions. At the same time, because
they are affected by the natural envi-ronment, their character is wild and
they are hard to tame.”
Foreign-bred horses in the area
may run faster than local horses for
a short distance, he noted, but they
lack stamina. They are also depend-
ent on humans. They must be fed
manually, rather than living on the
scraggly grass of the open range.
“Once an ordinary foreign horse
is tamed, it will always be docile. But
a tame Mongolian horse will only
allow its owner to get close. Even aft-
er taming, it will become wild again
if you don’t ride it enough,” Bayan-
gol said.In addition, Mongolian horses
are strong-willed, with great perse-
verance. “As long as they can run —
and even if they’re injured —
they’ll run until their guts fall out,”
Bayangol said. “They will keep run-
ning to the last breath. That’s a pre-
cious characteristic that other
animals, such as sheep, cows and
camels, don’t possess.”
Moreover, he said, “Mongolian
horses are loyal to their owners. No
matter how far they are taken away,
if they can find a way to escape
they’ll run back home. I was absent
for half a year, and when my horsessaw me coming home, they whin-
nied to express the feeling of miss-
ing me. It was very touching.”Economic factors
As the economy of Inner Mongo-
lia has developed, the role of horses
has waned. They are no longer tools
for transportation. They’ve been
replaced by cars, motorcycles and
trucks.
Raising horses has become
increasingly commercial — either
for sale or for racing. The average
price of a horse is around 7,000 yuan
($992), and the market has beengrowing rapidly.
Herdsmen often sell their horses to
a dealer, and the dealer resells them
to meat markets or horse clubs.
Many horse-related products,
such as mare’s milk, horse oil and
horse hair from the mane, have
gained popularity in recent years,
which in turn provides business
opportunities.
Bayangol never sells horses as
meat. “My horses have brought me
many honors through racing,” he
said. “I would never treat them that
way. Unfortunately, I can only keep a
certain number of them on the
meadows I own. The land must be
protected from overgrazing, so I
have to sell sometimes.”
On average, Bayangol sells about
30 horses a year, which can bring
him income of about 90,000 yuan.
“Compared with 10 years ago, the
price of horses is much higher as a
result of growing interest from the
public in horse culture and riding.
But I still feel pretty down every
time I sell one,” he said.
Meanwhile, conditions on the land
have improved. Sarnaa, Bayangol’s
wife of 20 years, noted how the gov-
ernment stepped in to provide a
steady supply of water on the barren
plains. “In the past, our meadows
received only occasional rain. There
was no reliable water source,” she
said. “Last year, the central govern-
ment helped us drill a 120-meter-
deep well, which has brought
precious water to the land.”Cultural guardian
Horse racing is deeply embedded
in the hearts of the descendants of
Inner Mongolia’s nomads. There is
no substitute.
“I get very excited when I race,”
said Bayangol, who never wears pro-
tective gear, preferring to ride in the
traditional Mongolian way. He
placed third last year in a regional
competition. And he remains firmly
focused on preserving his heritage.
As people’s living conditions
improve, their passion for horse rac-
ing grows, especially among the
younger generation, Bayangol said.
But it’s becoming more difficult to
find good horsemen. Many young
people leave their rural roots
behind, seeing city life as a gateway
to a different, more modern life with
a higher living standard.
Bayangol has tried to find ways to
keep interest alive and growing.
“We often hold local races aimed
at gathering people to enjoy the
horse culture,” he said. “Some sheep
herdsmen participate in every race,
and they don’t care much about the
results. They just love riding and
racing and immersing themselves in
the tradition that goes with it.”
He feels it’s his responsibility to
pass the horse culture to the next
generation and to ensure that the
golden Mongolian horses are pro-
tected.
“Those horses have brought me
great joy, as well as wealth. So I have
deep gratitude and love for them.
Anytime I feel pressured, I go to the
stable or the pasture for a while to
sit beside the horses. They heal me.”
The lessons he has learned from
the endurance and perseverance of
the Mongolian horses encourages
him in many aspects of life, he said.
Sarnaa supports his love of the
animals and career. She has been a
valuable partner, helping him raise
the horses and sheep every day and
taking care of daily family matters.
The culture runs equally deep for
her, as it does for Amjilt, their
19-year-old son, who has tasted the
extremes of physical endurance, like
the horses, in his pursuit of Greco-
Roman wrestling.
He said it is sometimes hard for
him to understand his father’s love
of horses.
“My family has had horses around
since I was born. I have a feeling that
my dad can only stand two days at
most not touching his horses,”
Amjilt said.
“He and horses have a unbreaka-
ble link and emotion. I think only
true love can describe it.”Contact the writers at
[email protected]Bayangol (right) and one of his students ride on the grassland near his home in the Inner Mongolia
autonomous region. QI HONGYAN / FOR CHINA DAILYInner MongoliaHohotArea: 1,183,000 square kilometersMUKESH MOHANAN / CHINA DAILY25.24.23.23.23.19972000200420082018Population
Unit: millionSource: Inner Mongolia Regional Bureau of StatisticsGDP
Unit: billion yuan5.
197827.
1988126.
1998849.
20081,728.
($249.16 billion)
2018Annual per capita disposable
income of urban residents
Unit: yuanAnnual per capita disposable
income of rural residents
Unit: yuan
38,
($5,520)
2018
26,
2013
12,
2007
6,
2002
4,
199813,
($1,964)
2018
8,
2013
3,
2007
2,
2002
1,
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