Dumpling or Dragon Boat Festival

This is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (June/July) and is marked with the eating of rice and meat dumplings. The ‘dragon boat’ refers to the time when a court official, Qu Yuan, was drowned in a river. In an attempt to rescue him, his comrades are said to have rowed up and down the river looking for him. This incident has since mutated into a colourful festival with teams of rowers competing in races (to represent the quest to find Qu Yuan), many of their boats decorated with a heraldic symbol of a dragon or a phoenix to boost their competitive spirit.