The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar – May 30 this year on the Western calendar. It is a 2,000-year-old tradition celebrated nationwide in various forms to commemorate the ancient poet Qu Yuan, who committed suicide out of love for his country.
In September 2009, UNESCO added the Dragon Boat Festival to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, the first Chinese festival to receive the honor.
2009年9月，聯合國教科文組織將端午節列入非遺名錄。端午節是第一個獲此殊榮的中國傳統節日。
Dragon boat races have been held for centuries. The races were inspired by villagers' valiant attempts to rescue Qu Yuan from the Milo River.
端午節時賽龍舟的傳統已經延續了幾個世紀。據說，村民們曾在汨羅江搶救屈原的行動演變成了今天的龍舟賽。
An egg balancing competition will be held at noon in many places during the festival.
許多地方，端午節正午都會舉辦立雞蛋比賽。
At the Dragon Boat Festival, children normally wear scented sachets stringed with five-color silk thread to ward off evil. The sweet-smelling sachet contains cinnabar, realgar and aromatic herbs.
端午節期間，小孩通常佩帶五色絲線串成的香囊來避邪驅瘟。香囊內放有朱砂、雄黃和藥草。
Zhong Kui is a famous exorcist in Chinese folk stories. His picture, a fierce-looking male brandishing a magic sword, is hung up in Chinese houses to scare away evil spirits and demons, especially during Dragon Boat Festival.
During Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese put mugwort leaves and calamus on doors or windows to repel insects, flies, fleas and moths from the house.
端午節期間，人們將艾葉菖蒲掛于門窗前用于驅除蚊蟲。
Zongzi are traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival. Zongzi filled with five-spice coated fatty pork and mung beans are popular in Guangdong. In northern provinces, people prefer sweet zongzi that are filled with sugary red-bean paste.
Realgar wine, or xionghuangjiu, is a Chinese alcoholic drink consisting of fermented cereals and powdered realgar. There is an old saying: "Drinking realgar wine drives diseases and evils away!"
雄黃酒由發酵的谷物和雄黃粉釀制而成。老話說：“飲了雄黃酒，病魔都遠走！”
It is a custom for people in East China's Nanchang to eat eggs boiled with tea during the Dragon Boat Festival.
端午節吃茶葉蛋是江西南昌地區的風俗。
During the Dragon Boat Festival, glutinous rice cakes are eaten by the Korean ethnic group, who live in Yanbian prefecture in Northeast China's Jilin province. Served with honey or sugar, the rice cakes are delicious and chewy.
吉林延邊的朝鮮族人民端午節愛吃打糕。蘸著白糖或蜂蜜，打糕吃起來特別美味又有嚼勁。
煎堆是用面粉、米粉和糖混合油炸制成，口感酥甜。福建一帶，端午節家家戶戶要吃煎堆。
Jiandui is a kind of fried round cake made of wheat and rice flour and something to sweeten them. In East China's Fujian province, every family eats jiandui during the Dragon Boat Festival.
Dragon boat race is held at night in a river town. Photo is taken by Ji Yongxie. [Photo provided by photoint.net]
《夜賽龍舟》 紀永協 （攝）
Elders are busy with zongzi, which ware pyramid-shaped snacks made of glutinous rice ball stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, during the Dragon Boat Festival. Photo is taken by Zhang Yougang. [Photo provided by photoint.net]
《古宅人家》張有鋼 （攝）
A sacrificial ceremony is held at the ancestral temple during the Dragon Boat Festival. Photo is taken by Zhuo Zhihao. [Photo provided by photoint.net]
《端午祭》 卓志昊 （攝）
Dragon boat race at an ancient village. Photo is taken by Zhang Yongyan. [Photo provided by photoint.net]
《鄉村龍舟》 張永艷 （攝）
Source / Chinaculture.org Editor / Li Hongrui, Liu Xuanyi
