In every corner of the world, camels, with their unique postures and tenacious vitality, have deeply taken root in different cultures and regions. From the vast African deserts to the grasslands and Gobi deserts in Asia, festivals related to camels are like bright pearls, shining with the light of the profound emotional bond and rich cultural integration between humans and camels. These festivals are not only a tribute to camels, this magical animal, but also a grand stage for demonstrating local customs and traditional folk cultures. Camel festivals in China The Camel Culture Festival on the Sunite Grassland in Inner Mongolia kicks off around January 9th every year and lasts for two days. At the opening ceremony, there are formations of magnificent two-humped camels. Besides, there are activities such as camel polo, camel racing, camel beauty contests and archery on camelback. Meanwhile, an intangible cultural heritage fair is set up to display delicious foods like camel milk, camel milk tablets, camel meat patties as well as cultural and creative products with camel images. The "Divine Camel Sets Sail" Winter Camel Culture Game is held in Alxa Right Banner, Inner Mongolia. There are sporting events such as 12-kilometer cross-country races, 7-kilometer speed races, 3-kilometer young camel races, archery on camelback, evaluations of male breeding camels, nose stick cutting and rope twisting, allowing tourists to fully enjoy the unique charm of camel culture. The Wulatehouqi International Camel Culture Tourism Festival is held on January 1st in Chaoge Wenduer Town, Wulatehouqi, Bayannur City, Inner Mongolia. With the theme of "Promoting ethnic culture, strengthening the tourism industry and building a camel culture tourism brand", its biggest highlight is to create a "camel landscape corridor" through "thousands of camels racing and ten thousands of camels on display". In addition, the largest camel relay race will be held, and a series of folk custom activities closely related to camels will be organized, such as camel milking, male camel beauty contests, rope twisting, nose stick cutting, shooting at the "Hariba" target, family beauty contests on camelback, playing camel polo on snow and so on. Tourists can also taste ethnic cuisines like the whole camel feast. The "Treasure of the Gobi" Camel Culture Festival in Wulatezhongqi is held in Ganqimaodu Town, Wulatezhongqi on February 11th. On that day, there are 15-kilometer long-distance camel races, 4-kilometer races for 2-year-old camels, 5,000-meter races for young camels, 4×1,000-meter camel relay races, male camel beauty contests and so on. The Camel Culture Festival in Alxa Left Banner is held from November 17th to 18th in the Sumutu Camel Culture Base in Bayanhot Town. Contestants from Baotou, Ordos, Bayannur and other places bring a large number of camels to participate. During the festival, artistic performances with the theme of camels, such as situational dramas and song and dance shows, are held. There are also competition items like short-distance speed races, long-distance endurance races, camel relay races, camel milking, rope twisting, camel beauty contests. In addition, there are exhibitions and sales of featured products as well as cultural tourism promotions. The Double-humped Camel Festival in Hangjin Banner is held every year. It mainly includes traditional ethnic cultural projects such as fire worship, worship of female camels, worship of male breeding camels, camel hair shearing, wool twisting, nose piercing, camel racing and folk performances. The Camel Culture Tourism Festival in Kalpin County is held during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays. There are "the most beautiful camel" evaluation activities, including evaluations of "the most beautiful two-humped camels", "the most beautiful white camels", "camels with high milk production", "the cutest baby camels" and so on. Besides, there are bonfire parties, camel riding experience activities, food festivals, the Red Desert Farmers and Herdsmen Sports Meeting, symposiums for travel agencies, glider and hot air balloon flight experience activities, exhibitions and sales of special agricultural and sideline products, and "Poetry Enriches the Camel City" poetry sharing sessions. Camel Festivals around the World The "Zafar" Camel Festival in the United Arab Emirates: It is one of the important grand events for camel trade in the Gulf region. It is held every year, and camels from six countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the Sultanate of Oman gather here to participate in appraisals, auctions and various levels of competitions. Meanwhile, competitions and displays of Emirati folk customs such as date packaging, date palm leaf weaving, camel milking are also held, along with exhibitions and sales of nomads' handicrafts, nomads' poetry competitions and photography competitions with the theme of camels. The Pushkar Camel Festival in India: It is held in the town of Pushkar in the state of Rajasthan, India, in the week before the full moon day in the month of Kartik (according to the Hindu calendar) every year and lasts for five days. It is the largest camel fair in the world. Besides camel trading, there are also different competitions such as camel dressing contests, horse dancing competitions and cattle beauty contests. It also attracts a large number of tourists as well as Hindu believers who go to take a bath in the sacred Pushkar Lake. It is a festival that combines livestock exhibitions and sales, carnivals and religious elements. The Kuwait Camel Festival is held in early November every year. In the first half of the festival, it is mainly a trade fair for camels and cattle. Camel owners will dress up their camels beautifully in the hope of getting a good price. Besides, there are also religious celebrations as well as events related to camels, such as camel races, camel dances and camel hair trimming. The Berbera Camel Festival in Somalia: Berbera is an important port city in the northern part of Somalia, and the local camel festival is an important gathering. During this festival, there will be a grand camel parade. People will carefully dress up the camels, decorating them with various colorful fabrics, bells and so on. There are also fierce camel racing competitions, which attract many local herdsmen and tourists to watch. Moreover, there will be a camel beauty contest, and the judging criteria include multiple aspects such as the body shape, fur color and posture of the camels. The Camel Festival on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt: The camel festival on the Sinai Peninsula is also an important cultural activity in the local area. The festival activities here include the display of traditional Bedouin (the local nomadic people) camel skills. For example, the Bedouins will demonstrate how they set up tents on the backs of camels and how to quickly load and unload the goods carried by camels. Meanwhile, there are also camel endurance competitions to test the camels' ability to walk for a long time in the desert environment. The winning camels will receive honors and awards, and their owners will also gain the respect of the local people and prizes. The Camel Festival in Iran: At the camel festivals in some regions of Iran, there will be exchange activities regarding camel breeding experience. Herdsmen gather together to share the feeding methods of camels in different seasons, experience in disease prevention and control, and so on. There are also demonstrations of the production techniques of camel dairy products, such as the on-site production of traditional dairy products like camel cheese and camel milk shortbread, and tourists are invited to taste them. These dairy products have a rich local flavor. Whether in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and other places in China, or in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, India, Somalia, Egypt and Iran abroad, camel festivals attract countless people to participate with their unique charm. They enable people to appreciate the diverse values that camels carry under different cultural backgrounds, ranging from trade exchanges, sports competitions to cultural inheritance and folk custom displays. Camel festivals have become a vivid bridge connecting the past and the present, as well as the local and the global, and have also enabled camel culture to continue and develop in the long river of time, constantly radiating new vitality and vigor. We are looking forward to more people being able to step into these camel festivals and experience the unique and charming camel culture.
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