A villager in the costume of an ancient messenger rides a horse through a 100-meter-long and 4-meter-wide alley in Xiadongzhai village, Yangquan, Shanxi province, Feb 12. The village is called Xiadongzhai because Dong Zhuo, a warlord in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), stationed his troops there. Deriving from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the performance named paomapai or horse racing, was then a way of conveying messages among troops in different regions and has now developed into a unique folk performance. The custom has been handed down for over a thousand years with each man in the village learning it during childhood. [Photo/sxrb.com]

Villagers gather and watch a performance called paomapai –– a type of horse racing, in Xiadongzhai village, Yangquan, Shanxi province, Feb 12. Deriving from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the event was then a way of conveying messages among troops in different regions and has now developed into a unique folk performance. The custom has been handed down for over a thousand years with each man in the village learning it during childhood. [Photo/Xinhua]