Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, also known as Duanyang Festival, Wuri Festival, May Festival, etc. The Loong Boat Festival is a traditional festival for the Chinese Han people to commemorate Qu Yuan. It is launched around Qu Yuan, a talented and independent doctor of the State of Chu, and spread to all parts of China. Folk customs and culture are shared. Qu Yuan's celebrities are known to all, recalling the noble feelings of the Chinese nation. Loong Boat Festival has the customs of eating Zongzi, racing Loong Boat, hanging calamus, artemisia, wormwood leaves, fumigating atractylodes, angelica, and drinking realgar wine. "Loong Boat Festival" is one of the national legal holidays and has been included in the World Intangible Cultural Heritage List.

It is said that the Loong Boat Festival is to commemorate Qu Yuan, a poet of Chu State in the Warring States Period, who threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of May and died for his country. Qu Ping, also known as Qu Yuan, was a Han Chinese from Danyang, Chu during the late Warring States period. He was a descendant of Qu Xia, the son of King Wu of Chu, Xiong Tong. Although Qu Yuan was loyal to King Huai of Chu, he was repeatedly ostracized. After King Huai's death, he was exiled due to King Qingxiang's belief in slander and ultimately died by throwing himself into the Miluo River. It is said that the local people immediately rowed boats to rescue Qu Yuan upon hearing the news, and they continued all the way to Dongting Lake, but never saw Qu Yuan's body. At that time, on a rainy day, the small boats on the lake gathered together by the pavilion on the shore. When people learned that it was to salvage the wise minister Qu Dafu, they once again braved the rain and rushed into the vast Dongting Lake. In order to express their grief, people went boating on rivers, and then it gradually developed into a Loong Boat race. The people were afraid that the fish in the river would eat his body, so they went home and threw rice balls into the river to prevent fish and shrimp from spoiling Qu Yuan's body. Later, it became a custom to eat Zongzi.

The customs of people across the country for Loong Boat Festival are much the same, while eating Zongzi on Loong Boat Festival has been the same throughout China since ancient times. Today's Zongzi is more colorful. Generally, glutinous rice is wrapped in bamboo shells, but the colors inside are determined by local specialties and customs. Famous ones include meat dumplings, ham dumplings, salted egg dumplings, candied rice dumplings, longan dumplings, chestnut dumplings, lotus seed dumplings, and so on.

Dragon Boat Festival

Who said the Dragon Boat Festival,

The ancient rumor is that it is Qu Yuan.

Kanxiao Chu River is vast and ethereal,

We cannot wash away the injustice of the righteous officials.