Naadam's three games, explained

Every July, Mongolia stops for Naadam. The national festival opens in Ulaanbaatar on 11 July. At its heart are three contests, long called the "three games of men": wrestling, archery and horse racing. Women and girls now compete in two of them.

Wrestling: no weight classes

The national tournament starts with 512 or 1,024 wrestlers and ends with one champion. There are no weight classes, so a light wrestler can draw a heavy one. A bout ends when a wrestler's knee, elbow or back touches the ground.

Winners dance the eagle dance before and after their bouts, arms spread like wings. A wrestler who wins enough rounds earns a title that stays for life.

Archery: small leather targets

Archers aim at rows of small woven leather cylinders set on the ground. Men shoot from 75 metres and women from 60 metres. Judges stand by the targets, raise their arms and call out each hit.

Horse racing: the riders are children

The races do not run around a track. They cross open steppe, from 15 to 30 kilometres, and the age of the horses sets the distance. The jockeys are children, chosen because they are light. The horse, not the rider, is the star: the fastest are praised in song.

Naadam is on UNESCO's list of the world's intangible cultural heritage.