端午节开始

People across China are preparing to celebrate the annual Dragon Boat Festival, which includes many traditions and customs that date back more than two thousand years ago. Today they are still vibrantly alive.

Zongzi, or sticky rice, a traditional food people eat during the festival, has a history dating back to around 300 BC.

It commemorates the death of a national hero, Qu Yuan from the ancient state of Chu at that time. He committed suicide in a river because of the downfall of his nation. To keep his body from being eaten by fish, locals wrapped rice in bamboo leaves and threw them into the river to feed the fish.

"Zongzi is made to have very clear edges and angles, which is meant to resemble the unyielding character of Qu Yuan. And people often put a red date inside, to symbolize Qu's utter devotion and loyalty to his state," said folk custom expert Luo Xiaolu.

After Qu Yuan’s death, people rowed boats to look for his body. In his home town Zigui in central China’s Hubei province, the Dragon Boat Festival is regarded a bigger event than the Chinese New Year.

Some historical evidence suggests that Chinese people began celebrating the festival even before Qu Yuan’s suicide.

On the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, with the change of seasons, insects begin to breed and diseases spread. People would hang mugwart and calamus, drink wealgar wine, and hang up icons of a mythical guardian. All of these were believed by the ancients to promote health and well-being.

The Festival has long been celebrated in Singapore, Malaysia and many other Southeast Asian countries.

This traditional Chinese festival is now on the United Nation’s list of Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage.