The 36th Tourism Naadam Festival kicked off in the Xilin Gol League of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Saturday, blending traditional nomadic sports with modern tourism to boost the region's summer economy.
Naadam, usually held in mid-summer and sometimes in winter in pastoral areas of Inner Mongolia, means "games" in the Mongolian language.
It often comprises wrestling, archery, and horse racing, also known as the "Three Games of Men."
This year's event features these classic competitive events alongside cultural heritage experiences, folklore activities, and grassland cuisine.
To encourage deeper visitor engagement, organizers have also introduced interactive programs including a tourist triathlon, a youth Naadam, and family activities.
"We happened to catch the Naadam festival, and we came all the way from Dalian. We want to watch the horse racing and wrestling matches," said a tourist surnamed Teng.
Since 2024, the latest three editions of the Naadam festival have collectively received over six million tourist visits, generating 4.1 billion yuan (about 605 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue, with overall visitor numbers and consumption showing steady year-on-year growth.
The core event runs from Saturday to Monday while related activities will go on until late August.
"The three-day Naadam festival is expected attract about 600,000 tourists to the league, up 20 percent from the previous year, which will boost Xilin Gol's summer economy. The Naadam festival itself is a massive cultural and tourism IP. Traveling for the Naadam festival drives spending across the services of accommodation, dining, transport, shopping, and entertainment," said He Mingjian, director of the bureau of culture, sports, tourism, radio, film and television of the Xilin Gol League.
36th Naadam festival opens in Inner Mongolia
Business leaders, researchers and entrepreneurs from around the world gathered at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), where discussions are focusing on turning AI innovation into cross-border partnerships and real-world applications.
The 2026 WAIC is running in Shanghai from Friday to Monday under the theme "AI Partnership for a Brighter Future."
Across the exhibition halls, conversations often extended beyond product demonstrations, with visitors exploring potential partnerships, supply chains and overseas expansion.
Among them was Paolo Brizzi, chief information officer of Italy's Competence Center for Industry and Manufacturing (CIM), who met with a Chinese AI company to discuss cooperation ranging from industrial applications to entering the European market.
"My point is not to be a customer or a provider of technologies, but to identify parts [where we can] actually collaborate and work together," he said.
The four-day conference has also created opportunities for startups to connect with investors, researchers and potential customers. One startup launched an online networking group on the opening day, attracting hundreds of participants who exchanged ideas, explored business opportunities and sought technical solutions.
Participants said AI innovation depends not only on technological breakthroughs but also on cooperation across industries and countries.
"Collaboration is important because alone you cannot do so much. It needs to be a team support ecosystem," said Florian Wohlrab, CEO of Canada-based OpenHW Foundation.
For many international visitors, the conference is also an opportunity to explore how AI can help address practical challenges. Omar Khan, a participant from Pakistan, said international cooperation is essential to ensuring AI benefits everyone.
"I think, for me, we are all the one. We're human and I think we can cooperate a lot," he said.
Some attendees were looking for solutions to challenges in their home countries. A visitor from Kenya said AI applications such as weather forecast and soil analysis could help improve agricultural productivity across many parts of Africa, where farming remains a cornerstone of the economy.
As countries race to advance AI technologies, participants at this year's WAIC said the conference has become a platform for connecting ideas, technology and demand across borders, helping turn AI innovation into practical international cooperation.
World AI Conference highlights growing demand for global AI partnership
