China Celebrated Dragon Boat Festival

China celebrated Friday, the traditional Dragon Boat Festival, commemorated every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival, also called Duanwu Festival, through which the Chinese people expressed their love for their country.

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According to Shao Fengli, an associate professor at Liaoning University, "there are many versions concerning the festival's origin, and the most influential one is related to Qu Yuan." He highlighted that this festival manifests Chinese people's love of the poet and the patriotism that remains the backbone of Chinese culture.

The lines: "The way ahead is long and has no ending, yet high and low I'll search with my will unbending" of the poet Qu Yuan is still spread widely, as he is well-known for his patriotism and contributions to classical verse. "The spirit of patriotism has been deeply embedded into the blood of all Chinese people and has become an important spiritual symbol of the nation," added Shao.

The festival's history came in the scenario of local people rowed out on the Miluo River searching for the body of Qu Yuan, as he drowned himself, and many boats could be seen on the river. The head of the Qu Yuan memorial hall in Miluo city, located in central China's Hunan Province, Luo Haobo, said that Dragon boat races have thus become one of the most important Chinese festivals.

According to the head of a dragon boat manufacturing plant in the city, Gao Hu, this year's total of dragon boats ordered this year was over 100. He said that a customer in east China's Anhui Province ordered a 30-meter-long traditional dragon boat that more than 60 people could row.

Beijing expects to celebrate over 240 online cultural activities during this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday from June 3 to 5. Shao said that the "traditional festivals are formed through thousands of years of inheritance. They have rich cultural significance and represent the beliefs of the Chinese people."