Some 1,500 years ago, people in the Gongbo area invented whistling arrows to enliven their celebration of bumper harvests and major events.

Today, China lists shooting whistling arrows among ethnic minority sports events.

Arrow, Bow and Target

The whistling arrow is 0.6 meter long and is topped with a wooden head that is hollow. Square at the arrowhead, the bottom has a sharp tail, with four small holes that create the whistling noise as it passes through the air.

The bow is made of two bamboo chips pasted together to become 6 cm wide and 0.7 cm thick.

Generally, the whistling arrow is shot toward a target made of deer hide, complete with three rings made of leather stripes. The first two leather rings are about 5 cm apart, and the innermost ring has a diameter of 18 cm. The first ring is white, the second black and the innermost one red. The frame used to carry the target is generally 4-5 meters high.

Competition and Rule

During the slack season, Tibetan farmers gather to compete in shooting whistling arrows. In Nyingchi, there is a whistling arrow shooting association with some 200 members.

Generally the contest is held between villages. Donned in their holiday best, the villagers come along with food and wine. They sing and dance to encourage the contestants.

The competition ground is 40 meters long and 30 meters wide, with the target set to face south. Shooters line up in a row. Nobody other than the people charged with collecting the shot arrows is allowed to walk around the competition ground.

There is a team and individual contest. Contestants have to compete in up to 15 rounds for the finals, with each shooting two arrows per round. Anyone who hits the bull is eye gets one of the eight pieces of stone spread out in front of him. Those who succeed are presented with a cup of congratulatory wine each time, while the ultimate winners get snow-white hada scarves.