Dragon boat

In this article, we introduce you a very important Chinese festival-the Dragon Boat Festival. As we can tell from the name, the main symbol of the day is the dragon boat, or Long2 Zhou1 (Check out how to read this word in the pinyin chart.).

Dragon boat racing is an indispensable part of the festival, especially in southern part of China such as Guangzhou. As the gun is fired, people will see racers in dragon-shaped canoes pulling the oars harmoniously and hurriedly, accompanied by rapid drums, speeding toward their destination. Folk tales say the game originates from the activities of seeking Qu Yuan’s body.

On Dragon Boat Festival, there are many traditional customs. For example, parents will dress their children up with a perfume pouch, fill the bags with perfumes or herbal medicines, and finally string them with silk threads.

If you learn mandarin online or elsewhere, you will know people in China also eat a very famous food on this day. That is Zong4 zi, as the traditional food for the Dragon Boat Festival is a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves to give it a special flavor, varies greatly across China.

In some parts of China, it is a very popular practice to drink this kind of Chinese liquor seasoned with realgar on the Dragon Boat Festival. Ancient Chinese believed realgar was an antidote for all poisons, so most effective to drive away evil spirits and kill insects. Everyone would drink some realgar wine during the Dragon Boat Festival, and children would have the Chinese character for "King” written on their foreheads with realgar wine. This is for protection from evil and disease for the rest of the year.