Nadam Fair

Nadam is a time-honoured gathering of the Mongolian people, its name meaning "entertainment" or "game" in Mongolian, declared by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and inscribed on the first national ICH list in 2006 under folklore. It grew from the revelry that followed the ancient steppe rite of obo worship, and over centuries became the most representative festival and sporting gathering of the Mongolian people.

At the heart of the Nadam fair are the "three manly arts" — wrestling (bökh), archery and horse racing: bökh sets no weight classes and is decided by a single fall, with fields of 512 or even 1024 wrestlers; archery is done on foot and on horseback; racing covers speed, pace and trot. Around them unfold long-song, morin khuur, trade markets and feasting, the whole steppe in revelry.

Nadam is a vital vessel of Mongolian cultural identity and cohesion, uniting sport, trade, entertainment and custom, and holds real value for the study of festival culture and social organisation among the northern nomads.

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region holds grassland Nadam fairs each summer in places such as Xilingol, with local Nadam events also staged in Hohhot and the other leagues and cities.