Photo shows the stadium in the Lhoka Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region, which will be used as the competition ground track field. [Photo/www.xzsnw.com]

According to the preliminary meeting of the 11th Tibet Autonomous Region Sports Meeting, the region's sports meet which is held every four years will be held this year during August 29 to September 5 in the Lhoka Prefecture.

"Ba Laxiu" or the Tibetan dice will make its debut this year. As the traditional Tibetan folk game, Tibetan dice is very important for Tibetans people, and has the broadest participants in the region.

The dice game in Tibet has been around for thousands of years. According to the literature, Tibetan ancestors in remote antiquity made the dice as an oracle inscription on tortoiseshells to tell people's fortune according to the divinatory symbols. In 1642 when the Ganden Potrang Local Government established, the dice had become an activity of wits and recreation, which cannot be ignored in Tibetan's daily entertainment life.

The dice game needs various tools including dice, dice bowl, roll plate, jetton, etc. According to the different environments and situations, the tools can use local materials, such as using zanba as dice, matchsticks or branches as the jetton.

Photo shows the competition field for bridge, Chinese chess, Tibetan dice and Jiren (a ball game like snooker). [Photo/www.xzsnw.com]