Urumqi Festivals & Events

Festivals
Urumqi, as a city with a variety of ethnic minorities, is natural to have a unique ethnic traditional festival. The main festivals of the ethnic minorities who believe in Islam in Urumqi Xinjiang are Kurban Festival and Lesser Bairam Festival (Id al-fitr).

Kurban Festival
Kurban Festival, also known as the Sacrifice Feast, is one of the most important festivals in Islam. The main contents of the festival are as follows: (1) Holding a ceremony, Muslims gather in the great mosque or public places to hold a grand ceremony and celebration; (2) Slaughtering animals, the general Muslims are ready to slaughter the animals before the festival, and the requirements of the animals must be healthy, which are divided into three types: camel, cattle and sheep, depending on the economic situation of the family. The slaughtered meat shall be divided into three parts, which shall be reserved for themself, given to relatives and friends and given to the poor.

Lesser Bairam Festival
As the "Kurban Festival" , Lesser Bairam is also the major Islamic festivals. The time is on October 1 of the Islamic calendar. Lesser Bairam usually lasts for three days. On the first day, all people should get up early and clean their houses. Second, Adult Muslim Muslims should bathe and clean themselves. Third, The mosque should also be repaired and cleaned before the festival. Finally, all Muslims will go to the mosque to pray for the blessing of Allah.

Events
Urumqi has rich and colorful local activities. As a provincial capital city, Urumqi has all kinds of necessary entertainment facilities for a modern metropolis; As a gathering place for ethnic minorities, Urumqi's local activities also have national characteristics.

Horse Racing
Kazakh, Mongolian, Kirgiz, Tajik, Uygur and other ethnic groups in Xinjiang all love horse racing, especially Kazakh herdsmen who have been growing on the grassland of Tianshan and Altai mountains for generations. They love horse racing very much.

Catching Sheep
Catching Sheep is also a traditional sports activity enjoyed by people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. The host places a sheep with its head cut off at a designated place. After the order is issued, all the riders will gallop to the sheep together. The rider who carries the sheep to the destination is the winner.

Skiing
Skiing is one of the suitable experience projects in Urumqi in winter. There are many skiing venues around Urumqi. The traffic is convenient.