The sounds of the grasslands arrive first. In a TikTok video, a herd of horses rolls in from afar, their black, brown, and white forms blending together, the sound of hooves like a low rumble of thunder, cutting across the grassy slopes and through the shallow rivers. This is the most memorable scene of the Zhaosu Tianma Festival in Xinjiang: thousands of horses galloping.
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The official name of the Xinjiang Tianma Festival is often seen as the "Xinjiang Yili Tianma Culture and Tourism Festival" or the "China Xinjiang Yili Tianma International Tourism Festival," with the main venue usually located in Zhaosu County, Yili Prefecture. Its highlights include not only galloping horses but also horse racing, equestrian performances, traditional ethnic sports, folk songs and dances, camping, and local cuisine. The "ten thousand horses" in the video is the most powerful symbol used for promotion; the actual number of participating horses varies depending on the year, venue, and organizational arrangements.
Why Zhaosu?
Zhaosu is located in the southwestern part of the Ili River Valley in Xinjiang. In summer, its grasslands are vast, offering panoramic views of the Tianshan snow-capped peaks, grasslands, and river valleys. It has long been renowned for its horses, and is often referred to by officials and media as the "Hometown of Chinese Heavenly Horses." A report on Guangming.com mentions that Zhaosu's "Heavenly Horses" primarily refer to the Ili horse, characterized by its large size, compact build, and combination of endurance and speed.
The name "Tianma" (Heavenly Horse) carries a strong historical narrative. Public records often trace it back to the Western Han Dynasty, after Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions, when the fine horses of Wusun came into the view of the Central Plains, and Emperor Wu of Han praised the fine horses of the Western Regions as "Tianma." This lineage has been transformed into a festival brand today, giving Zhaosu's horse culture a longer historical depth than just sightseeing performances.
The most striking image: a stampede of ten thousand horses.
The most memorable part of the Tianma Festival is the herdsmen leading large herds of horses across the grasslands. In some years, the footage focuses on the Karkant Grassland, while in others it focuses on the Zhaosu Wetland and the Tekes River area. From a distance, it looks like a flowing dark ribbon, but upon closer inspection, you'll notice that each horse has a different rhythm: some gallop along the water's surface, some raise their heads and neigh, and some lag behind at the edge of the procession.
This scene could easily be mistaken for a completely wild natural spectacle. A more accurate understanding is that it is a highly organized grassland performance, a modern scene composed of local herders, horses, viewing platforms, cameras, and tourism festivals. It preserves the texture of pastoral life while also serving tourism promotion.
A festival is more than just watching the horses run by.
According to a Xinhua News Agency report in 2025, the Tianma Cultural Tourism Festival opened on July 19 at the Tianma Cultural Park in Zhaosu County, with activities including equestrian performances, traditional ethnic sports competitions, and folk art performances. A Xinhua News Agency photo report in 2026 shows that the event had already started on June 20, with the opening ceremony including a "Ten Thousand Horses Galloping" performance and a situational musical poem and dance performance such as "Xi Jun Chang Ge".
This also reminds travelers of one thing: the Pegasus Festival generally falls in the summer, but the date is not fixed each year. In the past, July was commonly the date, but in 2026 it has been moved to late June. If you are specifically going to see the opening ceremony or the stampede of horses, you should refer to the latest official announcements or local cultural and tourism information before your trip, and avoid relying solely on short video dates to plan your itinerary.Besides the opening ceremony, past events have included horse racing, equestrian endurance races, Buzkashi (a traditional Tibetan horse-riding competition), a horse industry forum, grassland music, bonfire parties, camping, and food and tourism product exhibitions. Viewing it merely as "a video of horses" misses the point of Zhaosu's attempt to package horse culture, sporting events, and summer tourism into a complete destination.
Travel assessment: Worth going, but timing is crucial.
The Tianma Festival is suitable for three types of travelers: those who want to capture grand scenes, those interested in grasslands and horse culture, and those who already have a summer itinerary planned for Yili. If you only want to replicate short video footage, you need to be prepared to accept the risks associated with weather, viewing locations, crowds, transportation, and changes in event schedules. The most beautiful few minutes on the grassland are usually also the few minutes when the most people raise their phones.
A more prudent approach would be to include Zhaosu in the summer itinerary of Yili, combining it with visits to Xiatu, Zhaosu Wetland, grassland flower fields, or Tekes, rather than relying on a single performance for the entire trip. This way, even if the activity schedule is adjusted, the itinerary will still be sufficiently comprehensive.
Pre-trip reminders
If you're planning to include the Tianma Festival in your Xinjiang trip, check three things first: the opening ceremony date, the actual number of "Ten Thousand Horses Galloping" or "Heavenly Horses Bathing in the River" events, and the location of transportation and accommodation at the main venue. Ground transportation is still required from Zhaosu County to the grassland event venue, and accommodation and charter vehicle prices may increase during the festival.
Short videos make the Tianma Festival seem like a fleeting moment, but the real Zhaosu is more like a season: from June to August, grasslands, snow-capped mountains, herds of horses, and crowds of people arrive together. The horses only need a few minutes to gallop past, but what makes people willing to travel a long way for them is the horse culture accumulated over two thousand years behind those few minutes.
Related FAQs
Where is the Xinjiang Tianma Festival usually held?
Is the "Ten Thousand Horses Galloping" at the Tianma Festival really just ten thousand horses?
What should you pay most attention to when making a special trip to Zhaosu to see the Tianma Festival?
References
- TikTok: China Minutes Xinjiang Heavenly Horse Festival Video
- Xinhua News Agency: The magnificent "Heavenly Horse" scenery in Zhaosu, Xinjiang welcomes visitors, June 20, 2026
- Xinhua News Agency: Witnessing thousands of horses galloping in Zhaosu, Xinjiang during the height of summer, July 19, 2025.
- Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People's Government Website: A Grand Gathering of Ten Thousand Horses on the Grassland
- Guangming.com: Zhaosu, Xinjiang, the "Hometown of Chinese Heavenly Horses," A New Leap Forward
- Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Department of Culture and Tourism: 2017 China Xinjiang Yili Tianma International Tourism Festival Travel Guide
- Google Maps: Search for Zhaosu Tianma Cultural Park
