Archery is a traditional sport of the Mongols and also one of the most important games at the Nadam. For ancient Mongols, archery is the symbol of men.
The bow is 100-150 centimeters long and is usually made of resilient wood, including bamboo, birch and plum. The string is made of cattle hide or muscle.
Archery falls into two categories: distance archery and target archery. Target archery is more popular and distance archery was once popular in the old times, but gradually died out.
In the target archery, two or more poles are erected and a whole piece of sheepskin or felt rug will be put up between the poles. The center of the sheepskin or felt rug will be marked.
The participants are required to shoot at the targets from 75-80 meters away and the one that has shot the most arrows on target will be the winner, getting the title of "Mergen" (super marksman).