Racing the Dragon Boat

May 4, Suining, Sichuan Province: Dragon boat racers practice in preparation for the activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, which fell on May 30 this year.

With a history of over 2,000 years, the festival’s origin is traced to the death of great patriotic poet Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), and it is celebrated in various ways throughout regions of China and neighboring countries. Dragon boat racing and eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings in bamboo leaves) are the two most well-known traditions. Legend holds that the race originates from the idea of the people who rowed to save Qu Yuan when he drowned himself, with zongzi made to feed the fish in the river to protect his body.

In some regions of China, it’s also a day of hygiene, on which people use herbs to dispel disease and insects. For example, they wear a perfume pouch or hang mugwort leaves or calamus on their doors.