Horseback heritage of Horqin

Having spent half a century perfecting the art of traditional ethnic Mongolian saddle-making, artisan Togtonbayar is keen to pass on his craft to future generations, Wang Ru and Yuan Hui report.

Walking into the studio of Togtonbayar, a 73-year-old national-level inheritor of China's intangible cultural heritage of Horqin Mongolian saddle-making, you can see whips, reins and girths hanging on the wall. On his table, colorful accessories made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, jade and stone shimmer in the sunlight.

Togtonbayar started learning how to make traditional Mongolian riding gear around age 18 and has since devoted more than 50 years to learning the techniques. He is especially good at making saddlery native to his hometown of Horqin Left Wing Rear Banner in Tongliao city in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region.