Singing and dancing is part of a typical Ordos wedding. [Provided to China Daily]

Riders who can successfully domesticate horses are admired as heroes in the region. Mongolian people stay with their horses year after year, helping them to grow bold, unconstrained, courageous and resolute. Mongolian people’s love and respect for horses is demonstrated in many ways. They select horses to ride while caring for grazing animals, taking long trips and joining in Nadam, a traditional Mongolian festival featuring outdoor activities such as horse racing, wrestling and archery.

When locals worship Genghis Khan, the founding father of the Mongolian empire hundreds of years ago, on March 21 of the lunar calendar, the ritual begins with sacrificing fresh horse milk. White horses are particularly revered by Mongolian people in the ceremony. The horse must have glossy black eyes and pitch-dark hoofs and its hair color should be pure white.

As for saddles, craftsmen on the grassland are now able to make suitable ones that make both riders and horses comfortable. The saddles have diverse decorations and are inlaid with bone or shell carvings.

The promotion and application of Mongolian horse culture is important for helping people from different ethnic groups in China to gain mutual understanding and unity, locals in Ordos said, adding it is possible to develop the existing Mongolian horse culture to reveal the value of Mongolian horses.