Heights of fortune (2)

Ancient superstitions surrounding the numerology of the Dragon Boat Festival's date continues to inspire Chinese to climb mountains on this day. Zhang Zixuan explores some of the country's most majestic peaks for holidaymakers to ascend.

The tradition of climbing mountains during Dragon Boat Festival comes from the historical associations between misfortune and double 5s - the holiday falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. Ancient Chinese would scale peaks to collect such auspicious plants as Asiatic wormwood and peach branches to hang on doorways to ward off evil spirits. While the custom of using flora to fend off demons is rarely seen today, the practice of scaling alpine heights persists. We look at some of the country's most majestic mountains to ascend during the festival, which falls on June 12 this year.

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