KUNMING, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Shangri-La horse racing event kicked off on Monday in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan province, to celebrate the traditional Dragon Boat Festival.

More than 200 horses from 21 teams of Yunnan and Sichuan provinces will take part in the three-day competition. Horses are divided into three categories, including mixed race, ameliorated horse race, and ethnic-style horse race.

Each category will compete in speed races of 1000 meters, 3000 meters, and 5000 meters and archery contest on the horse will be competed as part of the equestrianism demonstration.

The horse racing event is an intangible cultural heritage in Yunnan, and one of the most important traditional ethnic festivals in Shangri-La.

Shangri-La, a key point of the "Ancient Tea Horse Road", is located in the hinterland of the "Three Parallel Rivers", a world natural heritage site.