east asia
WHEN
June 18, 2018
WHERE
Cities across China, especially Jiangsu,
Zhejiang, Guangdong and Fujian Provinces
HOW
There are taxis and efficient metro systems in
the cities; buses ply intercity routes
DOS AND DON’TS- Do address the oldest person in a group first
- Don’t initiate personal contact, such as hugs
EXPERIENCE
DRAGON BOAT FESTIVALObserved for over 2,000 years, this
energetic festival commemorates the
death of the ancient Chinese minister
and poet Qu Yuan, who committed
suicide by jumping into a river and
drowning after being banished by the
emperor due to political machinations.
The common folk, who loved the
upright and patriotic minister, sought
to prevent his body from being
desecrated by throwing cooked rice
into the river to feed the fish within.
Fishermen also rowed their boats into
the river to look for his body, and beat
their oars against the water to scare
the fish away.
Today, a popular spectator sport is
the river race held on dragon boats,
which are so named because they are
painted to look like Chinese dragons:Their stern features a colourful wooden
dragon head. The teams on these boats
compete to reach the finish line first by
rowing at a frenetic pace, guided by the
beat of a drummer on every boat. The
sport has become popular globally.
The cooked rice tradition started
by the death of Qu Yuan has also
transformed: It is now made into a
popular festival snack called zong zi,
which are triangular shaped dumplings
of glutinous rice filled with meat,
mushrooms, chestnuts, sweet bean
paste or other fillings such as candied
melon, eggs and jujubes. They are
also sometimes dipped in sugar
before being eaten. The dumplings
are traditionally made by hand in
households, and are wrapped in reed
leaves several days before the festival.FESTIVAL MUST-SEE: DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL
China
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