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Ten things about the Dragon Boat Festival

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Dragon boat racing in one form or another has been in China for over 2,000 years.

Did you know that in China, the Dragon Boat Festival is called Duanwu? Or that the whole festival started as a search and recovery mission?

In celebration of this year's Dragon Boat Festival, we collected ten interesting facts for our readers.

  • The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Because of this, it's also known as Double Fifth. In China, the festival is called Duanwu. The literal translation of Duanwu is Solar Maximus festival. In the Chinese lunar calendar, Duanwu is the time when the sun is at its maximum strength.
  • In China, the sun (yang) is considered male, as is the mythical Chinese dragon (long), so the festival honoring the dragon is held when the sun is at its peak.
  • Although we refer to Duanwu in the West as Dragon Boat Festival, this name actually refers to only one part of the celebration, dragon boat racing. European visitors to China in the 19th century were so impressed with the dragon boat races that they saw during the festival that they took the name with them.
  • There are many legends tracing the beginning of the Dragon Boat Festival. The most widely known relates to Qu Yuan (ca. 340 BCE-278 BCE) who lived in the state of Chu during the Warring States Period. Qu was banished after opposing an alliance the king wanted to enter into. Twenty-eight years into his exile, Qin, with whom the king had allied himself years ago, conquered Chu. Upon hearing the news, Qu committed suicide by drowning himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth month.
  • The local people threw rice into the river to keep the fish from eating his body. Later on, to keep his spirit from being hungry, they threw rice wrapped in reeds and tied with strings – to stop the fish from eating the offering – into the river. This was the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival delicacy called zongzi, glutinous rice stuffed with meat or other fillings that are wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves that are then boiled or steamed.
  • The villagers also tried to recover Qu Yuan's body by paddling out on boats. This was the beginning of the dragon boat races that we associate with the festival.
  • A dragon boat is a long, narrow boat that can have as few as 10 paddlers. Traditional dragon boats have as many as 50 paddlers. The rhythm of the paddlers is guided by a drummer or a caller.
  • Dragon boat racing in one form or another has been in China for over 2,000 years. The practice is believed to have started around the time of the first Olympic Games in Olympia. However, it was only in 1976 that it became an international event after the Hong Kong Tourism Bureau organized the first international races.
  • Dragon boat racing is among the fastest growing team water sports in the world. There are dragon boat clubs in over 60 countries. International competition is governed by the International Dragon Boat Federation.
  • In 2005, the Chinese government started a reform of its holiday system, adding three traditional holidays to the list. Duanwu was celebrated as a public holiday for the first time in 2008, along with Qingming or Tomb Sweeping day and the Mid-Autumn festival or Moon festival.(source)

When is the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu)?

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Dragon Boat Festival 2013: Wednesday, June 12
Dragon Boat Festival 2014: Monday, June 2
Dragon Boat Festival 2015: Saturday, June 20

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