Aerial view of people circling around bonfires to celebrate the Torch Festival on Axilixi Prairie on July 20, 2024 in Bijie, Guizhou Province of China. (Photo by Luo Dafu/VCG via Getty Images)

The photo taken on September 17, 2024 shows a villager walking over burning charcoal to perform a traditional fire-walking ritual called “Lianhuo” at Shuangfeng village in Jinhua, in eastern China's Zhejiang province. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

A woman rests on a pile of plush toys at IKEA store in the shopping district of Causeway Bay in Hong Kong on November 3, 2024. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

Performers from “New Baby Junior Dance Crew” take part in a parade on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Snake, in Hong Kong on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Lam Yik/Reuters)

Models wait backstage before the opening show for China Fashion Week, featuring Finnish outdoor gear brand Halti, in Beijing, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Residents wrapped in blankets watch flames engulf bamboo scaffolding at Wang Fuk Court housing estate after a major fire broke out, in Tai Po, Hong Kong, China, on November 26, 2025. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

People visit the Yellow Sea forest park as the leaves of Dawn Redwoods turn red and yellow in winter in Yancheng, eastern China's Jiangsu province on December 4, 2025. (Photo by AFP Photo/China Stringer Network)

It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, where two stallions fight over a female to ring the Chinese new year. And when it’s the Year of the Horse, the fights are considered to be even more significant. They’re held in small villages across southern China and have been condemned by animal rights groups, including Hong-Kong based Animals Asia. But those who participate in the events defend the fights and insist they take care of the animals.