Origin and Traditions about Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival, known in Chinese as DUAN WU JIE, is celebrated on 5th of May in Chinese calendar, or Lunar Calendar.

On that day, people across China eats ZONGZI,a kind of food made from rice and wrapped up in bamboo leaf, and holds boat race in MINLUO River located in ZIGUI County, HUBEI Provice. All boats used in the race have dragon head sculptures on both ends to make the whole boat looks like a dragon, so these boats are often referred to as Dragon Boat, and this festival is also called Dragon Boat Festival.

This tradition has been handed down from one generation to another and dates back over 2000 years. The most popular version of its origin has it that this festival is in honor of Chu Yuan, an ancient patriot and poet who drown himself in MINLUO River on that day (5th of May, 278 B.C), after all his endeavors failed to save his country.

Stay tunned and I'll update with more about Chu Yuan and you'll know why he deservs such an respect and why people eats ZONGZI and held boat race on this festival.