Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year
Source: Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi

An amateur archer takes part in the traditional “Gongbo archery” competition in Nyingchi, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, Nov. 19, 2020. A traditional archery competition was held in Nyingchi on Thursday to celebrate the Gongbo New Year. This year, more than 260 archery enthusiasts from Nyingchi participated in the competition. “Gongbo archery“, with a history of over 1,500 year, is a traditional folk sports competition which is unique to Nyingchi. It has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Tibet. There are small holes on the wooden cone head of the arrow. When the arrow flies to target, the air passes through the hole and makes a sharp whistling sound. A cloth curtain with a leather target is hung on the other side of the arena. After hitting the target, the arrow falls off together with the inner ring of leather target.
Source: Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi