Chinese Festivals || The Dragon Boat Festival

On the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, Chinese people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 (duānwǔ jié).

Also known as the Duanwu Festival (端午节, duānwǔ jié) or the Double Fifth Festival, it is one of China’s seven official statutory public holidays, with workers and students taking a 3-day break. In Hong Kong, the same celebration is called the Tuen Ng Festival.

During the Dragon Boat Festival, people commemorate the life and the death of the famous Chinese poet Qu Yuan.

When is Dragon Boat Festival?

Who is Qu Yuan?

Dragon Boat Racing

Rice Dumplings

Other Dragon Boat Festival Traditions

Dragon Boat Festival Vocabulary

Dragon Boat Festival FAQ’s

When is Dragon Boat Festival?

Dragon Boat Festival is the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, but chances are you might not be so familiar with the lunar calendar, so let’s refer to the Gregorian Calendar:

2026 – Friday, June 19th

2027 – Wednesday, June 9th

2028 –Sunday, May 28th

Who is Qu Yuan?

Qu Yuan (屈原, Qū Yuán) was a patriotic poet and statesman of the State of Chu during China’s Warring States period (475-221 BC).

His story is the most famous origin legend for the festival, and it embodies values that still resonate today: loyalty to one’s country, the courage to speak truth against corruption, and collective mourning as an act of remembrance.

That said, the Qu Yuan story is not the only origin legend. In Jiangsu and Zhejiang, many people honour Wu Zixu (伍子胥, Wú Zǐxū), a statesman of the State of Wu whose body was thrown into a river near Suzhou after he was executed on false charges.

In parts of Zhejiang, the festival also commemorates Cao E (曹娥, Cáo É), a young girl who drowned herself in the river searching for her father’s body, and is remembered as a symbol of filial piety.

Scholars have also noted that the festival likely predates all three legends, rooted in ancient dragon totem worship and seasonal rituals along the Yangtze River.

When some corrupt ministers slandered Qu Yuan, King Qingxiang of Chu exiled the poet to the regions south of the Yangtze River.

In 278 BCE, Qu Yuan was greatly concerned over the corruption in the government and felt powerless to remedy against it, so he drowned himself by attaching a heavy stone to his chest and jumping into the Miluo River.

According to legend, fishermen rowed dragon boats to recover Qu Yuan’s body and tried to scare away the fish by beating drums and splashing their paddles.

Furthermore they wrapped some rice into triangle silk packages to ward off the dragon that haunted the river so that the monster would not eat the body of the poet.

Since then, every year on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, Chinese people sympathize with Qu Yuan’s death rowing “Dragon boats” and eating rice dumplings.

Dragon Boat Racing

Dragon boat racing can be considered the most important activity during the Dragon Boat Festival.

The boat size can vary by region and is generally about 20-35 meters, carrying teams of 20 to 60 paddlers.

Every crew has three key roles: the paddlers providing the power, a drummer at the front who beats a steady rhythm to keep the team in sync, and a steersperson (sweep) at the stern who guides the boat’s direction.

Getting that rhythm right is everything: a good drummer can make or break a race.

It is believed that the winning team will have good luck and a happy life in the following year.

Dragon boat racing is firmly Chinese in origin, with a history of over 2,000 years rooted in ancient southern China. Today it is a global sport: the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF), founded in 1991, now governs the sport across more than 75 member countries and territories, with active racing communities in the UK, Canada, the US, Australia, and across Southeast Asia.

The 2026 UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival was held at MediaCity in Salford, and annual races take place on the Thames in London.

If you happen to be staying with a Chinese family at an LTL homestay during this festival, it’s worth asking them where the nearest race is. Pop along, pick a team, and cheer them home to victory!

Or if you want to study Chinese across Chinese cities, there’s no better time than festival season to experience it all first-hand.

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Rice Dumplings

There’s no Dragon Boat Festival without sticky rice dumplings, known in Chinese as zòngzi.

In ancient times these rice dumplings, 粽子 (zòngzi), were made from broomcorn millet wrapped in gourd leaves in the shape of a palm leaf heart.

Nowadays they are made from glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or lotus leaves and tied with soaked stalks or colorful silk cords.

Zòngzi can be salty or sweet, and there is a well-known regional divide across China:

In cities like Beijing you are most likely to find the sweet red-bean variety, while in Guangzhou, Shanghai, or Chengdu the savoury pork-and-egg versions dominate.

Both are wrapped in bamboo or lotus leaves and tied with soaked stalks or colourful silk cords before steaming.

Other Dragon Boat Festival Traditions

Racing and zòngzi are the headline acts, but Dragon Boat Festival has a wider set of customs rooted in seasonal health and protection.

Hanging mugwort and calamus (艾草和菖蒲, àicǎo hé chāngpú). Families hang bundles of mugwort (wormwood) and calamus on their front doors and windows. In traditional belief, these medicinal herbs ward off evil spirits, insects, and summer illnesses, a practical custom in a time before air conditioning and mosquito nets.

Fragrant sachets (香囊, xiāngnáng). Parents make small colourful silk pouches filled with fragrant herbs and powders and pin them to children’s clothes. The sachets are meant to deflect bad luck and keep illness away through the hot summer months.

Realgar wine (雄黄酒, xiónghuángjiǔ). Historically, people drank or applied realgar wine, a fermented drink infused with the mineral realgar, to drive off venomous creatures and disease. The practice is now mostly symbolic or discontinued in modern households, but you will still see it referenced in traditional celebrations.

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Dragon Boat Festival Vocabulary

If you are learning Mandarin, the festival is a great chance to pick up some useful vocabulary. Here are the key terms:

TIP💡 There is actually a cultural debate about the correct greeting. Because the festival commemorates Qu Yuan’s tragic death, many Chinese speakers prefer 端午安康 (duānwǔ ānkāng, meaning ‘wishing you peace and health’) over 端午节快乐 (duānwǔ jié kuàilè, ‘Happy Dragon Boat Festival’). Both are widely used, but knowing the difference will impress your Chinese friends and colleagues.

Want to immerse in Beijing history and culture with LTL while living and breathing the language? There is no better way to pick up these nuances than being there for the festival itself.

端午节快乐！ 

Find out more about traditional Chinese festivals here:

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Dragon Boat Festival – FAQs

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