Traditional Dragon Boat Festival celebrated across China (31)

(People's Daily Online) 14:15, June 03, 2014

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Performers play dance in the Han River on June 2, 2014. The Han River is a left tributary of the Yangtze River with a length of 1,532 km. Historically it was referred to as Hanshui and the name is still occasionally used today. The river lent its name to Hanzhong, which lent its name to the Han Dynasty. The Han River rises in southwestern Shaanxi and flows east across the southern part of that province.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional and statutory holiday originating in China. The festival now occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional lunar calendar, the source of its alternative name, the Double Fifth Festival. The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so the date varies from year to year on the Gregorian calendar. The focus of most celebrations involves eating zongzi (sticky rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves), drinking realgar wine (Xionghuangjiu), and racing dragon boats.