Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu or Tuen Ng Festival, is a traditional holiday observed annually over 2,000 years in China to commemorate Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), an ancient Chinese patriotic poet. Originated from south China, Dragon Boat Festival enjoys higher popularity in southern areas, such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian Provinces.

• Travel Smart During Festival

Chinese: 端午节[duān wǔ jié]

Date: 5th day of 5th lunar month

History: more than 2,000 years

Traditions:  Eating Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), drink Xionghuangjiu (realgar wine), and race dragon boats. Other activities include hanging icons of Zhong Kui (a mythic guardian figure), hanging mugwort and calamus, taking long walks, writing spells and wearing perfumed medicine bags.

• Dates

Defined by Chinese lunar calendar, the date of Dragon Boat Festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month according to lunar calendar, so the Gregorian date varies every year, and hereunder is the holiday schedule from 2017 to 2022.

• Origin & History

The festival has long been a traditional holiday in China. 

The festival commemorates the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan, who was a loyal minister of the King of Chu in the third century BCE. Qu Yuan’s wisdom and intellectual ways antagonized other court officials, thus they accused him of false charges of conspiracy and was exiled by the king. During his exile, Qu Yuan composed many poems to express his anger and sorrow towards his sovereign and people.

Qu Yuan drowned himself by attaching a heavy stone to his chest and jumping into the Miluo River in 278 BCE at the age of 61. The people of Chu tried to save him believing that Qu Yuan was an honorable man; they searched desperately in their boats looking for Qu Yuan but were unable to save him. Every year the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated to commemorate this attempt at rescuing Qu Yuan.

The local people began the tradition of throwing sacrificial cooked rice into the river for Qu Yuan, while others believed that the rice would prevent the fishes in the river from eating Qu Yuan’s body. At first, the locals decided to make zongzi in hopes that it would sink into the river and reach Qu Yuan's body. However, the tradition of wrapping the rice in bamboo leaves to make zongzi began the following year.

On May 20th 2006 it was selected into the first batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage items. 

In 2008 it was first celebrated as a public holiday in China. 

On October 30th 2009 it was added to the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

• Traditions & Customs

Dragon boat racing and eating Zongzi are the central customs of the festival. 

Dragon boat racing is the most important activity during the Dragon Boat Festival. 

The wooden boats are shaped and decorated in the form of a Chinese dragon. The boat size varies by region. Generally it is about 20–35 meters in length and needs 30–60 people to paddle it.

During the races, dragon boat teams paddle harmoniously and hurriedly, accompanied by the sound of beating drums. It is said that the winning team will have good luck and a happy life in the following year.

Zongzi (粽子Sticky Rice Dumplings) is the most traditional Dragon Boat Festival food.

They are a kind of sticky rice dumpling made of glutinous rice filled with meats, beans, and other fillings. 

Zongzi is wrapped in triangle or rectangle shapes in bamboo or reed leaves, and tied with soaked stalks or colorful silky cords. 

The flavors of zongzi are usually different from one region to another across China.

Before Dragon Boat Festival arrives, parents usually prepare perfume pouches for their children.  

They sew little bags with colorful silk cloth, fill the bags with perfumes or herbal medicines, and then string them with silk threads. 

During Dragon Boat Festival perfume pouches are hung around kids' necks or tied to the front of a garment as an ornament. The perfume pouches are said to protect them from evil.

In some regions in China, people also wear a perfume pouch,drinking realgar wine and hang mugwort leaves or calamus on their doors.

All of these activities and games were regarded by the ancients as an effective way of preventing disease, evil, while promoting good health and well-being.