Event Announcement | The “Fragrant Zongzi Leaves, Crafting Dragon Boats” event is waiting for you to join!

Dragon Boat Festival
 

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanyang Festival, the Dragon‑Boat Festival, the Double Fifth Festival, or the Tianzhong Festival, is a major folk holiday that combines worship of deities and ancestors, prayers for good fortune and protection from evil, festive celebrations, and traditional food. Originating in the veneration of natural celestial phenomena, it evolved from ancient dragon‑worship rituals. During the midsummer days of the fifth lunar month, the seven stars of the Azure Dragon rise to the central southern sky, occupying the most “central and upright” position of the year—just as the fifth line of the Qian hexagram in the I Ching states: “The flying dragon is in the heavens.” Thus, the Dragon Boat Festival is regarded as an auspicious day when the dragon soars in the sky, and dragon‑related traditions and the culture of dragon boats have remained integral to its enduring legacy. According to legend, Qu Yuan, a poet of the Chu state during the Warring States period, drowned himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month; since then, the festival has also come to commemorate him.

The Dragon Boat Festival, along with the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival, is regarded as one of China’s four major traditional festivals. In September 2009, UNESCO officially inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, making the Dragon Boat Festival the first Chinese festival to be recognized as a world intangible cultural heritage.

The annual Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner, and the air is filled with the delicate fragrance of zongzi leaves and mugwort. Our museum has also prepared a host of exciting events—look forward to seeing you during the holiday!

 

“The fragrance of zongzi leaves fills the air as dragon boats are crafted”




 

      Dragon boat racing is one of the key traditions of China’s Dragon Boat Festival and is widely practiced throughout southern China. On May 23, 2011, it was officially included in the third batch of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List, with approval from the State Council. This Dragon Boat Festival, our museum has prepared handcrafted wooden dragon boat models; during the event, Tourists can

Pick up a dragon boat model at the book café on the first floor of Yumingtang, assemble it inside the library, snap a photo, and share it on WeChat Moments to take your dragon boat home—free of charge! We warmly welcome visitors to actively participate and experience the charm of Chinese culture firsthand.