Experience Dragon Boat Festival Traditions and Culture
There are various accounts regarding the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival. Among them, the character “端” (duān) carries the meaning of “beginning,” hence “端午” (duān wǔ) signifies “the fifth day.” As China’s first festival inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, the Dragon Boat Festival was designated a national statutory holiday in 2008 alongside the Qingming and Mid-Autumn Festivals. The most widely recognized theme commemorates Qu Yuan, China’s great patriotic poet.
Legend has it that as the State of Chu faced collapse, Qu Yuan mourned the capital Ying, grieved for its people, and despised both enemies and treacherous officials. Resolved to warn the Chu ruler and stir the nation’s patriotic fervor with his own life, he drowned himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. To prevent fish and shrimp from consuming his body, people threw zongzi into the river, thus establishing the custom of eating zongzi on the Dragon Boat Festival.
However, exceptions exist: in the region of Eastern Wu, the festival commemorates Wu Zixu, who was thrown into the river on the fifth day of the fifth month. Moreover, the customs of dragon boat racing and tribal totem worship in the Wu-Yue region predate the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods by a considerable time.
Dragon Boat Festival Customs
To this day, the Dragon Boat Festival remains a highly revered holiday in the hearts of the Chinese people. Celebrating this festival has been a tradition for over two thousand years. Due to China’s vast territory, diverse ethnic groups, and rich folklore, a wide array of customs has emerged.
Key traditions include daughters visiting their maternal homes, hanging portraits of Zhong Kui, welcoming ghost boats, avoiding the midday sun, affixing mugwort leaf talismans, hanging calamus and mugwort, walking to ward off ailments, wearing sachets, dragon boat racing, kite flying, martial arts competitions, ball games, swing riding, bathing children in wormwood and wheat decoction, applying realgar, drinking realgar wine and calamus wine, and eating five-poison cakes, salted eggs, zongzi, and seasonal fresh fruits. “
Though customs vary across regions, eating zongzi, dragon boat racing, wearing sachets, displaying mugwort, and applying realgar wine are universally practiced on this day.
Eating Zongzi
Eating zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival is a time-honored tradition among the Chinese people. Zongzi, also known as “jiao shu” or “tong zong,” With a long history and diverse varieties, examples include Zhejiang’s glutinous rice and fresh pork zongzi and Shandong’s yellow rice and honey date zongzi. People typically wrap the zongzi the day before, boil them overnight, and eat them on the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival. The wrappers are mainly made from tender reed leaves abundant near ponds and rivers, though bamboo leaves are also used; collectively, they are called zongzi leaves.
Traditional zongzi shapes are triangular or cylindrical, typically named after their filling: glutinous rice zongzi, red bean zongzi (with beans), meat zongzi, peanut zongzi, and jujube zongzi. Jujube zongzi, homophonous with “early success” (早中), are the most popular variety. They symbolize the wish that students will achieve early success in their studies. In the past, scholars would eat jujube zongzi on the morning of imperial examinations. Even today, on the mornings of high school and university entrance exams, parents in many regions still prepare jujube zongzi for their examinees.
Rowing Dragon Boat Race
Dragon boat racing is one of the most distinctive activities during the Dragon Boat Festival. People often organize dragon boat teams to compete in races on rivers, lakes, and seas, creating a spectacular and lively scene. The purpose and significance of dragon boat racing are largely similar across the country, mostly tied to commemorating Qu Yuan. Legend has it that after Qu Yuan’s death, the people of Chu mourned deeply and flocked to the banks of the Miluo River to pay their respects. Fishermen rowed their boats back and forth along the river, searching for his body.
Today, around the Dragon Boat Festival, dragon boat races are held across the country. Known as dragon boat racing, this tradition has a history of over 1,500 years in China and has been included in the national list of intangible cultural heritage. This custom not only reflects the people’s reverence for the dragon totem but also embodies the Chinese nation’s spirit of unity, cooperation, and striving forward.
Hanging Mugwort
The Dragon Boat Festival marks the first holiday after summer begins. As temperatures rise, it becomes a season prone to disease outbreaks. Thus, people often hang mugwort, calamus (water sword), pomegranates, or garlic at their doorways. Their distinctive scents are believed to ward off illness, repel mosquitoes, and dispel evil spirits.
As calamus is the foremost of the Five Auspicious Plants of the Midheaven, symbolizing a sword that banishes misfortune, alchemists dubbed it the “Water Sword.” Later customs evolved this into the “Sword of Calamus,” believed to slay a thousand evils. In his Qingjia Lu, Qing dynasty scholar Gu Tieqing recorded, “Cut calamus into swords, trim cattails into whips, pair them with peach wood and garlic bulbs, and hang them over beds and doorways—all to ward off ghosts.”
Wearing a Scented Pouch
Children wear sachets during the Dragon Boat Festival, traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits and prevent disease, though they are primarily worn as decorative accents on clothing. These pouches contain cinnabar, realgar, and aromatic herbs, releasing a pleasant fragrance. Wrapped in silk fabric and fastened with multicolored silk cords, they take on various shapes and are strung together into colorful, charmingly petite ornaments. Today, they have become a common craft item. In some Chinese cities, young men and women also use these sachets to express deep affection.
Drinking Realgar Wine
Realgar, also known as xiongjing, shihuang, or huangjinshi, is native to Hunan, Gansu, Yunnan, Sichuan, and other regions. It possesses a warm nature with a mildly pungent taste and is toxic. Used both topically and internally, it primarily serves to detoxify and kill parasites, treating malignant sores and bites from venomous snakes and insects.
Lacking scientific knowledge of mosquito and insect repellents, ancient people used potent herbal medicines like realgar and cinnabar to ward off venomous snakes, insects, and ants. Adults would apply realgar wine to children’s foreheads, ears, noses, hands, and feet to disinfect, prevent illness, and deter mosquito bites. Drinking realgar wine was believed to protect the entire family and bring good fortune.
Conclusion
The Dragon Boat Festival is not just a festival but also a cultural memory spanning over two thousand years. From the historical legend of commemorating Qu Yuan to traditional customs such as eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), dragon boat racing, hanging mugwort, and wearing sachets, these activities have always imbued the Dragon Boat Festival with a strong sense of human warmth and cultural atmosphere. Although customs vary from region to region, they all express people’s beautiful hopes for peace, health, and reunion, which makes this ancient festival still full of vitality today.
If you wish to experience the atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival while traveling, such as watching dragon boat races, tasting local zongzi, and participating in traditional festival activities, then professional cultural experiences and travel planning can make your trip more in-depth and enjoyable. Tattle provides travelers with recommendations for local cultural experiences, activity information, and personalized itinerary suggestions. If you are interested, please contact us immediately!
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