Naadam: 12 Must-See Photos From Mongolia's 'Three Games of Men' Festival

July 11th, 2013

Naadam is an important Mongolian holiday celebrated every July. Wrestling competitions are among the three main sporting "games" enjoyed during this festival. (Evgeni Zotov/Flickr)

Archery is also one of the main events during the Naadam festival. (Mark Heard/Flickr)

Horse races happen across the Mongolian pastureland during the three-day festival. (scott.presly/Flickr)

A dress rehearsal occurs in Ulaanbaatar's Sukhbaatar Square ahead of the holiday festivities. (scott.presly/Flickr)

Mongolian kids near the finish line of their horse race. (Emilia Tjernström/Flickr)

At dawn, a young Mongolian rider heads to the start of a gruelling 30km horse race during the annual Naadam festival at Khui Doloon Khudag, 40km from Ulaanbaatar. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

Bökh is the folk wrestling style of Mongols in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and other regions. Bökh means "durability." (istolethetv/Flickr)

Another rider prepares for a horse race during the annual Naadam Festival at Khui Doloon Khudag 40 km from Ulaanbaatar. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

This 30km horse race features no saddles. All participants are under 12 years of age. (scott.presly/Flickr)

Soldiers participate in the annual Naadam opening ceremony parade in Ulaanbaatar. (scott.presly/Flickr)

A wrestling match occurs in an open field as part of the Naadam festival. (Emilia Tjernström/Flickr)

A 10-year-old Mongolian acrobat performs in the capital Ulaanbaatar during the annual Naadam Festival in July 2006. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

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Naadam is the biggest festival of the year for Mongolians. Although the event incorporates Mongolia's traditional nomadic, sporting, and military cultures, the three-day festival formally celebrates the Mongolian Revolution of 1921 and the nation's independence from Chinese occupation. Each Naadam festival kicks off with a grand procession featuring dancers, horse riders, athletes, musicians, and monks.

The festival's local Mongolian name, "eriin gurvan naadam," is translated as the "three games of men." That is, archery, horse racing, and wrestling. Whereas horse racing and archery competitions have gradually incorporated women participants over the years, wrestling continues to be a highly male-dominated sport.

The national festival in Ulaanbaatar has historically commanded worldwide recognition. In previous years, a handful of global luminaries such as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev made guest appearances at the festival.

Naadam is widely celebrated across Mongolia and China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which is home to over 4 million ethnic Mongols today.

In 2010, Naadam was named to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.