Korla Horsing Racing

Horse racing of Mongol can generally be divided into two: walking race and galloping.

In walking horse racing, horses compete in speed, resistance, steadiness and beauty via running with alternating side steps (the front hoofs and hind hoofs move in turns). The horses for racing are generally older than five years and the riders are always adults. The race requires a highly lofty horsemanship so that the rider is able to rein the horse to walk steadily, beautifully, and as fast as possible, without running.

However, over deforestation and environmental deterioration caused by human activity curtailed the lifespan of the lake andduring the 4th century AD codes and regulations had to be introduced to control the use of the insufficient water. When Marco Polo reached Lop Nur in 1275 he found nothing more than sand. Its contraction continued and Lop Nur finally disappeared in 1972.

The Lop Lake, reputed as the "lake of death" and located to the northeast of Rouqiang County in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, attracts historians and geographers from home and abroad by its mystery.