As an important part of the 11th Asian Arts Festival, the first Ordos Nadam Festival opened with a famous traditional Mongol hymn. A squadron of 999 horses and over 1000 figurants participated in the actual performance of Bow and Arrow Dance, Horse Dancing, Dove Dance and Archery Competition.

On the morning of August 19th, the Ministers of Cultural Ministries of Asian Countries and diplomatic envoys to China attended the opening ceremony and enjoyed many cultural performances. They also visited herdsmen’s families and were received by local residents enthusiastically.

The Mongol Nadam Festival will last 3 days at the Genghis Khan Mausoleum. During the Fair, thousands of candidates will participate in horse racing, archery competition and wrestling, which are called Three "Manly" Sports.

In addition to sports competition, people also make good use of this gathering to hold talks and establish relations in economic trade or to interchange goods.

As this is the First Nadam Festival celebrated in Ordos City, is history in the making due to its large scale and prominence within international Art circles.

In Mongolian, the word "Nadam" means "amusement and entertainment" and can be traced back to 1225AD, when Genghis Khan mounted an expedition to the west and conquered Khwarezm. In order to celebrate the victory they held the magnificent Nadam Fair. Till now, it has become popular around the nation and served as a bridge between cultures of different minorities.

The Chinese government pays high attention to the protection of Non-material cultural heritage and listed the Nadam Festival in the first batch of national Non-material cultural heritage on May 20th, 2006.