On a wide plain beside the town of Binder in northeast Mongolia, the nation’s first Crane Festival was held on June 13, 2014. Our group and other guests sat comfortably under a large colorful tent with one side open to a field surrounded by other tents, exhibits, games, vehicles, and horses. A sequence of activities unfolded for six hours, including ethnic dancing, singing, dramas, and dances about cranes, along with the three big traditional crowd pleasers — wrestling, horse racing, and archery.