Dragon Boat Festival flourishes

2000-year-old tradition celebrated nationwide in various forms

Dragon Boat Festival, which comes on May 5 on the lunar calendar - June 9 this year on the Western calendar - is a traditional festival in China to commemorate the ancient poet Qu Yuan, who committed suicide out of love for his country. Traditionally, people eat Chinese rice pudding and hold dragon boat races in the poet's honor. In September 2009, UNESCO added Dragon Boat Festival to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list, the first Chinese festival to receive the honor. As time passed, Dragon Boat Festival has been celebrated with many various activities in different provinces, yet most of them include traditional Chinese rice puddings and dragon boat races. Over the decades, it has even spread to neighboring Asian countries - dragon boat racing has already become an international sport.