Duanwu Festival(端午节 Duānwǔ jié) is a traditional Festival. It also known as Dragon Boat Festival or Double Fifth Festival is quite popular among the Chinese people, every year people celebrate this festival on May 15 in lunar calendar. China attaches great importance to the protection of intangible cultural heritage, on May 20, 2006, this folk-custom was approved by the State Council into the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage.

There are lots of stories about the origin of the festival, among them the most popular one is the festival is in memory of Qu Yuan(屈原 Qū Yuán), a poet and minister of Chu(楚 chǔ) Dynasty. Although Qu took orders from King Chu-huai, he was excluded the corrupt officials and banished by King Qin-xiang after the death of King Chu-huai. In 278 BC, learning of the capture of his country’s capital, Ying, by General Bai Qi(白起 Bái Qǐ) of the state of Qin(秦 qín), Qu Yuan is said to have written the lengthy poem of lamentation called “Lament for Ying(郢 yǐng)" and later to have waded into the Miluo river in today's Hunan Province holding a great rock in order to commit ritual suicide as a form of protest against the corruption of the era. It is said that after Qu yuan jumped into the Miluo River, the local people immediately paddled boats to save him, however, the dead body was unfound. In order to show their grief, people were swing boat on rivers and then this has developed into the dragon boat race. Also the local people feared that the fishes would eat Qu’s body, they brought rice dumplings from home and thrown them into the river so that the body could be avoided from spoiling. Later on, this has become the custom of eating rice duval.

What Do People Do?

Eating rice dumplings

Generally speaking, the customs are all the same in the different areas in China, through the ages, Chinese people eat rice dumplings on this festival. Nowadays there are various rice dumplings, the most common ones are those made of rice, with crystal, lotus seed, candied fruit, chestnut, sauerkraut, ham, and salted egg in it.

 

Drinking realgar wine

Drinking realgar wine on Duanwu Festival is extremely popular in the Yangtze River basin regions. Realgar is a kind of mineral which contains mercury and is toxic. The realgar wine we drink today has little realgar in it and has no harm to our body. Realgar wine has the function of insect repellent and detoxification, in ancient China, parents usually daubed realgar wine on the head or noise of their children to stop the insects from biting them.

Dragon boat racing

Dragon boat is the boat that shaped like a dragon or painted like a dragon. The boat race is a traditional Chinese folk Water sports which has been circulating for more than two thousand years. It is held mostly in the festive especially in Duanwu Festival.

 

The dragon boat race is a collective rowing competition. According to the historical records, the race is to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. The race is not only a sports and entertainment, but also reflects the the spirit of patriotism and collectivism in Chinese people. It’s an exciting day which is worth going to experience.