Ancient celebration marks passing of a patriot

Many Chinese will eat sticky rice cakes wrapped in bamboo leaves and watch teams row boats with dragon-shaped prows up rivers to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival today.

The day marks the death of one of China's most famous politicians, Qu Yuan. According to legend, Qu was a patriotic minister who challenged a corrupt government, lost a power struggle, got banished from the kingdom and eventually killed himself by jumping into a river more than 2,000 years ago.

The festival has long been a popular tradition in China, especially in the south and the government made it an official holiday in 2008.