INT 
Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duan Wu Festival (端午节), is one of three major Chinese holidays, along with the Spring and Moon Festivals. It began in the Warring States Period (475-221BC), dating back more than 2,000 years of history.
There are many legends about the origin of Dragon Boat Festival, the most famous statement is to commemorate the famous patriotic poet Qu Yuan.
The Origin of the Dragon Boat Festival
Due to his support to fight against the powerful State of Qin he was slandered by the aristocrat Zi Lan and later exiled by King Huai. Although he was exiled, he did not lose the passion for his country. To show is love and passion he wrote poems “Li Sao” (The Lament), “Tian Wen” (Heavenly Questions) and “Jiu Ge” (Nine Songs) and became a famous poet in China’s history. After his last poem “Huai Sha” (Embracing the Sand) he plunged himself into the Miluo River, as he felt unable to see his country occupied by the State of Qin.
He drowned himself on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. When the local people heard about his death, fishermen were searching for his body. They sailed their boats down the river while other people crowded to the riverbank to pay their respect to Qu.
In order to prevent fish and other animals pecking and destroying Qu’s body, people threw eggs and a special food Zhongzi (use some green herb leaves to wrap rice and tie it with thread) into the river, hoping the fish, lobster and crab will not bite Qu’s body. They also held the dragon boat (shaped like a dragon and brightly painted in red, yellow and black) to scare the fish eating Qu’s body.
Customs
Over the years, Qu’s story was transformed into the traditions of racing dragon boats and eating Zhongzi and eggs. Nowadays, Dragon Boating racing has become a popular sporting activity in China. International dragon boat races are being held in GuangZhou and Hong Kong every year. The custom of eating Zhongzi is now also popular in North and South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian nations. Zhongzi is being made with sticky rice, has different shapes and various fillings e.g. fresh meat, ham, egg yolk and bean paste. As most Chinese festivals include eating specific food, the Dragon Boat Festival is no exception.
Today, Dragon Boat Festival is still a very popular grand festival in China.
It is an important national intangible cultural heritage and great time for Chinese people to commemorate Qu Yuan.