Urumqi holds parade to celebrate Lantern Festival

Urumqi, the capital city of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, hosted a Shehuo parade on Thursday to celebrate the upcoming Lantern Festival. Eighteen folk performance troupes took part in the parade.

The Shehuo parade, a time-honored performance enjoying widespread popularity in rural areas across China, originated from ancient sacrificial activities to pray for a good harvest about 2,000 years ago.