Nagqu: Horse Racing Festival, Xiaodeng Temple, and Reading Café

The Qiangtang Qiaqing Gesar Horse Racing Art Festival has an annual date; at Xiaodeng Temple, historical tradition and a particular photograph take center stage. Warm Jia·Seni City Bookhouse adds an urban reading café to these themes.

Qiaqing Horse Racing Festival: Date and Cultural Heritage

The Qiangtang Qiaqing Gesar Horse Racing Art Festival is a traditional festival in Nagqu. It was officially named in 1995 and added to the Intangible Cultural Heritage List of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 2007. The annual festival date is August 10. The 2026 program notice presents the Nagqu Qiaqing Horse Racing Festival as a festival of national intangible cultural heritage. The years refer to different aspects: 1995 to the official naming, 2007 to its regional listing, and 2026 to its presentation in the program.

Gesar Racecourse: Location and Accessibility

When planning your trip, keep the festival date and venue separate in time. The 2019 edition took place at Gesar Racecourse in Nagqu. The racecourse is on Huancheng South Road and can be reached by car, bus, or on foot. August 10 is the annual festival date, while the location refers to the 2019 edition. If the festival is the reason for your trip, check the dates and venue details for the year of your stay.

Xiaodeng Temple: Historical Tradition and Photograph

Xiaodeng Temple still stands in one part of Nagqu and, according to historical tradition, is the first building erected on the Qiangtang Plateau. A historical photograph hangs in the reception room on the second floor, showing the Sixth Living Buddha of Zhukang greeting General Fan Ming at Mount Mala. The account of the temple and the photograph provide two distinct historical points of reference: a traditional classification of the building and a specific depicted encounter involving named people and a place.

Warm Jia·Seni City Bookhouse

Warm Jia·Seni City Bookhouse is located in the southern new development area of Nagqu. It is regarded as the world’s highest-altitude urban reading café and the first urban reading café on the Tibetan Plateau. The two descriptions use different frames of comparison: the first is worldwide, while the second refers to the Tibetan Plateau. The Bookhouse is therefore centered on an urban reading café, while the festival is defined by a recurring date and the temple by historical tradition.

When planning your trip, it is worth answering two questions separately: the festival date can influence when you travel, while the temple and Bookhouse can help you decide on a cultural focus. At the temple, the emphasis is on its traditional historical classification and the photograph; at the Bookhouse, it is on the description of an urban reading café. This brings together the question of when to travel and the decision about which theme should shape your trip.

Discover more destinations: Shigatse, Ngari, Qamdo, Nyingchi, Shannan, Nimu, Lhasa

Return to the main travel overview: Tibet.