BEIJING (AP) 鈥� , lion dances and other festivities marked the Dragon Boat Festival on Friday across mainland , Hong Kong and . The more than 2,000-year-old holiday is best known for its sporting events, but its origins are rooted in ancient beliefs about health, protection and harmony with nature.
鈥淭he fact that this holiday has been preserved for thousands of years shows how much we value our traditional customs,鈥� said Meng Dongmei, a retired resident of Beijing鈥檚 Tongzhou district.
Meng said her family observes the holiday through a variety of traditional customs. They prepare zongzi, the dumplings associated with the festival, and children wear five-colored bracelets believed to ward off evil.
鈥淲e also learned online about a traditional recipe using mugwort leaves, red dates, brown sugar and ginger to boil eggs,鈥� Meng said. 鈥淲e heard that it could help ward off illness and keep people healthy throughout the year, so we hope that through this festival our family will enjoy good health.鈥�
Thousands to gather for boat races
Beijing鈥檚 2026 celebrations will continue through the weekend at the capital鈥檚 Grand Canal.
The three-day event features men鈥檚, women鈥檚 and mixed dragon boat races over distances of 100, 200 and 500 meters. Teams from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Guangdong will compete throughout the holiday weekend.
More than 1,000 athletes and 200,000 spectators are expected to gather for the event, organizers said in a press release.
鈥淭he competition helped strengthen our team spirit,鈥� said Li Maoshan, a participant in Friday鈥檚 races. 鈥淚t also gave us an opportunity to demonstrate the spirit of perseverance and hard work.鈥�
Beyond the races
Among the cultural features during Beijing鈥檚 Dragon Boat Festival were demonstrations of Wing Chun martial arts, a market featuring traditional handicrafts and a performance in which dancers mimic the movements of a lion.
Activities were intended to highlight cultural exchanges between northern and southern China, officials said.
Friday鈥檚 lion dance was presented by a group of performers from Guangdong province in southern China. 鈥淲herever there is a festive occasion, you鈥檒l find dragon and lion dances,鈥� said He Weihong, founder of the group. 鈥淒ragon boat racing and dragon-and-lion dancing are inseparable, as they are both part of our intangible cultural heritage.鈥�
Ancient customs on health and protection
The festival鈥檚 roots run deeper than sporting competitions. It is widely associated with the ancient poet Qu Yuan, who according to legend drowned himself more than 2,000 years ago.
Tradition holds that people raced out in boats to search for him and threw rice into the river so fish would not eat his body. That story is often linked to both today鈥檚 dragon boat races and the zongzi still prepared by families across China.
鈥淭he Dragon Boat Festival is probably the richest and most diverse of all traditional Chinese festivals,鈥� said Tsinghua University history professor Liu Xiaofeng. 鈥淎cross different regions, people developed a wide variety of traditions based on ideas connected to the summer solstice and the balance of yin and yang.鈥�
The holiday falls in the fifth month of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, around the time of the summer solstice. Ancient Chinese viewed this as a period when insects, poisonous creatures and disease became more prevalent, giving rise to a wide range of customs aimed at preserving health and warding off misfortune.
鈥淎t its core, the Dragon Boat Festival is about disease prevention, warding off evil and maintaining health,鈥� Liu said.
Some people wear sachets containing medicinal herbs during the festival. Others fumigate their homes with smoke, a practice intended to prevent disease by driving out things considered harmful.
鈥淐hinese people have traditionally placed a special emphasis on happiness, well-being and living in peace and safety,鈥� Liu said. 鈥淣early all of China鈥檚 major festivals are connected in some way to these aspirations.鈥�
Evolving traditions
Participants in Hong Kong鈥檚 dragon boat races on Friday wore costumes including a cartoon version of Chinese Taoist deity Ne Zha.
Guided by the thunderous beat of their drummers, crews pulled their paddles through the water in unison, each boat surging toward the finish line as spectators cheered them on. Others watched the races at home as they enjoyed zongzi with their families.
鈥淭oday more than 64% of China鈥檚 population lives in urban areas and people鈥檚 lifestyles have been transformed,鈥� Liu said. 鈥淚n a large city, it鈥檚 difficult to celebrate the festival the way people once did in rural communities. Festivals evolve along with the times.鈥�
Bao Nari, a Beijing resident who spent years away from home while she studied in Japan, said that while boat races were not part of her childhood celebrations, other long-standing Dragon Boat Festival traditions like wearing five-colored bracelets were passed down through her family.
鈥淎fter coming back, I鈥檓 impressed by how much cultural development has progressed here,鈥� Bao said. 鈥淭his cultural heritage has become deeply rooted in our hearts and it inspires our generation to be more confident.鈥�
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AP video producer Liu Zheng in Beijing and reporter Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
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