Who are the Miao?

As an ethnic group in mountainous south and southwestern China, the Miao have a long history and fascinating culture. Their embroidery, silver jewelry, and batik art is second to none in the world. The Miao love sports, and they have various games held in their areas frequently, some of which you may have never known before.

Climbing a knife ladder

A Miao knife ladder is 12 meters high, with 72 knives as rungs. Cut their hair or a piece of cloth with the knives, the climbers will first show to people they are extremely sharp.

Then the performers begin to climb barefoot the ladder without any blood dropping onto the ground. While climbing, they will also show their acrobatic skills such as flips and somersault.

Walking on the flaming iron board

To start this game, an iron board has coals burned on it for over 1 hour and can reach temperatures over 800 degrees Celsius.

The barefooted Miao performer then steps onto the iron boards.Believe it or not, their feet aren't harmed at all, although there is smoke going off his/her feet.

Place the iron boards into the cold water, which boils quickly and the white fog arises.

Horse fighting

Horse fights and horse races are all held on June 6 of the lunar calendar, to express the Miao wishes for a good harvest.

The breathtaking horse fighting sports draw the attention of a lot of people. Girls will dress up with beautiful silver ornaments like silver bracelets, as this is also a holiday for them to have fun.

Two horses are taken into a big circus, and then the games starts. The two horses immediately throw themselves into a war once they meet. They attack each other with their hoofs frenziedly. After several fighting bouts, one horse is beaten and escapes, with the other pursuing after it.

The audience around the rink yell excitedly for the horses. At last, the champion will win a red cloth belt to adorn his body.

Horse races

Horse races are held on steep mountain roads. When the game starts, the rider is 5 or six meters behind the horse.

The rider then goes to mount the horse, which right away runs at a full gallop. For safety, the rider's legs have to be kept close to the body of the horse, as there is no saddle on the horse.

It's really a thrilling horse race. The winner will get a prize, and may even win the love of the local girls.

The Miao have even more exciting games and sports, visit my website to learn more about Miao culture and silver jewelry here.