Duanwu, the Loong Boat Festival端午

A day of Loong boat races and rice dumplings, said to honour the poet Qu Yuan.

When
Fifth day of the fifth lunar month
端午

五月五日競渡，俗為屈原投汨羅日。

Du Gongzhan’s note to the Jing Chu Sui Shi Ji

What it is

An old record says people raced boats and gathered herbs. A note says the day was held to be when Qu Yuan drowned himself, and the boats rowed out to save him.

The fifth month was thought unlucky, so the day was also for driving off illness. In Beijing people gave each other rice dumplings.

Coming dates

Worked out from the lunar calendar in China time.

  1. 2026Fri 19 June
  2. 2027Wed 9 June
  3. 2028Sun 28 May
  4. 2029Sat 16 June
  5. 2030Wed 5 June

Sources Jing Chu Sui Shi Ji; Dong Jing Meng Hua Lu; Yan Jing Sui Shi Ji.