The Hohhot People's Stadium is the main venue for the city's Naadam festival celebrations, typically held in late July or early August. Naadam — from the Mongolian word for "games" or "play" — is the annual festival of the three traditional Mongolian sports: horse racing, wrestling (bökh), and archery. In Hohhot, the event draws competitors from across Inner Mongolia and is attended by both Han and Mongolian residents.
The wrestling competition is the most theatrical: contestants wear traditional jackets and briefs (zodog and shuudag), and matches take place in a large outdoor arena with no time limit. A bout ends when any part of the body above the knee touches the ground. The horse racing takes place on the open grassland several kilometres from the city centre; the horses race over distances of 20–40 kilometres ridden by children rather than adults — a tradition maintained from the original nomadic context where the event measured the quality of the horse, not the skill of the jockey. The archery competition is held with traditional Mongolian bows, shooting at circular targets at 75 metres.