Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated every summer in honor of poet Qu Yuan (340BC - 278BC) who lived under the Chu State during the Era of Warring States, a time period of warlord rivalry before the formation of the first dynasty in 221 B.C. The Chu State was actually centered in the city of Jingzhou. When Qu Yuan became shunned by the sovereign and too frustrated with the government that soon formed the Qin Dynasty, he drowned himself in the river. In old China, suicide was a traditional form of protest - and an honorable way to "save face" when one's reputation was ruined beyond repair. After the local people could not find his body by boat, they threw rice into the water to prevent the fish from eating his body, in hopes of preserving it for the afterlife. Because of this, the traditional food is sticky rice dumplings (zhongzi), which can be dipped in sugar or are filled with meat and vegetables, and are wrapped in bamboo leaves.
Besides eating zhongzi, the other major festivity is the dragon boat race. Dragon boats are traditional long canoe-like boats that are usually adorned with decorative dragon heads and tails. The boat is rowed by a dozen men while another man, sitting in front, beats a drum to keep the rowers in sync. About eight teams competed in Jingzhou. Unfortunately, the team representing Yangtze University came in last. Below is a picture of two teams rowing with spectators and a statue of Qu Yuan in the background.
Here's a close-up of Qu Yuan
Good times!
Other than watching the race, we simply enjoyed walking around. Like any other festival, there were tons of vendors and decorations. And, of course, I had dozens of pictures taken with random strangers who wanted to pose with a wei guo ren (foreigner). The pics above are friends though! It was a lovely day except for by sunburned shoulders!
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