The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is a significant traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, with a history of more than 2,000 years. It falls on June 10 this year. China will have a three-day public holiday from June 8 to June 10 to mark the occasion. People will participate in dragon boat races, eat zongzi, and wear perfume pouches to ward off evil spirits. The festival is an important cultural tradition in China, and it is a time for family and friends to come together and enjoy the festivities. Various activities will be held across Changsha to celebrate the festival. You can't miss them!

1. 2024 Changsha Dragon Boat Invitational Competition and Wangcheng District Dragon Boat Culture Festival

Duration: June 8-10

Venue: Qianlong Lake Eco-tourism Resort, Changsha City

Activities: More than 50 dragon boat teams from all over the country will compete in Changsha and showcase their skills. A China-chic fair starting from June 8 will allow visitors to immerse themselves in the charm of traditional culture. Visitors can taste delicious zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, and participate in a quiz for special Duanwu Festival gifts. They can also wear Hanfu, taste local snacks such as Tangyou Baba (glutinous rice dumpling fried in sweet oil) and small bowls of sweet wine, and try their hand at sugar painting, dough sculpture, Hunan embroidery, paper cutting, lacquer coated fan making, and other intangible cultural heritage items. A beer music festival is scheduled to be held from 20:00 to 22:00 on June 8 and 9. Visitors can enjoy live music performances brought by a youth band while drinking beer.

2. Liuyang "Our Festival - Dragon Boat Invitational Competition"

Date: June 8

Venue: Laodao River, Yangtian Village, Shashi Town, Liuyang City

Activity: A number of dragon boat teams from Longfu Town, Chunkou Town, and Shashi Town will compete in the race.

3. Shiyan Lake Dragon Boat Invitational Competition

Duration: June 1-10

Venue: Shiyan Lake Scenic Area, Tiaoma Town, Yuhua District

Activities: dragon boat races, wrapping zongzi, and fishing zongzi

4. Han and Tang Culture Festival

Duration: June 8-10

Venue: Tongguan Kiln Ancient Town China-chic Paradise

Activities: The festival features two major events, namely the Tiangong Kaiwu (handcraft production) Festival and the Mulan Garden Party. The Tiangong Kaiwu Festival encompasses an intangible cultural heritage fair, a cultural relics exhibition, hands-on experiences, and street performances. The Mulan Garden Party highlights entertaining or interactive programs related to Duanwu Festival folk customs, including dragon boat shows, China-chic performances, fireworks displays, and activities such as shooting arrows, stones, or other weapons to defeat targets that represent the five poisonous pests, fishing zongzi, and making sachets.

5. Duanwu Festival-themed Garden Party

Duration: June 8-10

Venue: Changsha Fantawild Oriental Heritage Theme Park

Activities: experiencing folk customs related to Duanwu Festival including shooting arrows, stones, or other weapons to defeat targets that represent the five poisonous pests, tying five-color silk string, making sachets, and wrapping zongzi; watching the live-action drama performance Qu Yuan; and, admiring fireworks displays.

6. Duanwu Festival Temple Fair

Duration: June 8-10

Venue: Fire God Palace Restaurant, Pozi Street

Activities: visiting an intangible cultural heritage bizarre and watching opera performances.

7. Duanwu Festival Events at Dawangshan Resort

Duration: June 8-10

Venue: Xiangjiang Joy Ocean Park

Activities: interacting with marine animals and taking part in parent-child hands-on activities such as painting moon-shaped fans and making sachets.

8. Duck-catching Contest

Duration: June 8-10

Venue: Changsha Window on the World

Activities: taking part in a duck-catching contest, and experiencing folk customs such as a sacrificial ceremony, wrapping zongzi, sprinkling water with mugwort, smearing realgar liquor on the child's forehead, and tying five-color silk string.

9. Duanwu Festival-themed Garden Party

Duration: June 8-10

Venue: Changsha Sea World

Activities: Free admission is offered to tourists who can recite excerpts from the poem Li Sao, or "Encountering Sorrow" in English, written by Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet and a loyal official of the State of Chu during the Warring States period. Tourists can participate in interactive games such as fishing zongzi and shooting arrows, stones, or other weapons to defeat targets that represent the five poisonous pests.

10. Duanwu Festival Events at Tianhan Cultural Park

Duration: June 8-10

Venue: Tianhan Cultural Park, Guoyuan Town, Changsha County

Activities: Tourists have the chance to experience various folk customs, including playing Touhu game, or pitch-pot, an ancient entertainment that requires players to throw sticks from a set distance into a canister, painting eggs, and making zongzi and sachets.

Translator: Kuang Zhenzhen

Chinese source: official WeChat account of Changsha Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio and Television