Dragon Boat Festival links modern Chinese cultures to ancient traditions

Festivities across mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan marked the Dragon Boat Festival, a holiday steeped in over 2,000 years of tradition. Celebrations included vibrant dragon boat races, energetic lion dances, and various customs aimed at promoting health and harmony with nature.

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The fact that this holiday has been preserved for thousands of years shows how much we value our traditional customs.

The festival, also known as Duanwu Jie, is renowned for its competitive boat races, but its origins are rooted in ancient beliefs. Many families uphold traditions such as preparing zongzi, a type of sticky rice dumpling, and adorning children with five-colored bracelets believed to offer protection against evil spirits.

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We also learned online about a traditional recipe using mugwort leaves, red dates, brown sugar and ginger to boil eggs. We heard that it could help ward off illness and keep people healthy throughout the year, so we hope that through this festival our family will enjoy good health.

Some participants embraced traditional health practices, like boiling eggs with mugwort leaves, red dates, brown sugar, and ginger, a recipe thought to help maintain health throughout the year. These customs reflect a deep respect for heritage and a desire to connect with ancestral practices.

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The competition helped strengthen our team spirit. It also gave us an opportunity to demonstrate the spirit of perseverance and hard work.

In Beijing, the celebrations extended through the weekend at the Grand Canal, featuring races for men's, women's, and mixed teams. Over 1,000 athletes and 200,000 spectators were expected. The event aimed to foster team spirit and showcase perseverance. Cultural demonstrations, including Wing Chun martial arts and traditional handicraft markets, complemented the sporting events, highlighting cultural exchanges between different regions of China.

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Wherever there is a festive occasion, you'll find dragon and lion dances. Dragon boat racing and dragon-and-lion dancing are inseparable, as they are both part of our intangible cultural heritage.