Time: Around July 15 every year

Venue: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Origin: In Mongolian the word “nadam” means “amusement and entertainment.” The Nadam Festival is a traditional occasion for Mongols to get together for a few days of festivity. In the past, herdsmen in the region gathered in summer to sacrifice to celestial beings and amuse themselves in celebration of a thriving animal husbandry. Later, the Nadam Festival has become a ten-day event at the banner or sumu level during the summer-autumn interregnum. Now the festival has acquired a new name, “Nadam Grassland Tourist Festival”.

What’s On: Horse racing, archery, and wrestling; the Mani Festival, Yuan-dynasty imperial banquets, wedding in the ethnic Erdos style, sacrificial rituals at Genghis Khan’s mausoleum, tours of the Hot Spring Forest, Mongolian folklore show; and business activities.