Patriotism, boats and rice dumplings: The Chinese government’s favourite festival

Beijing: It was dreary weather for a public holiday — smoggy, humid and raining. Still, several thousand people jostled for a spot along Beijing’s Grand Canal for the dragon boat festival.

From early morning on Friday, racers sprinted down the canal in long, slender boats to the beat of drummers in the bow setting the pace. They are racing for fun, but also for glory after weeks of training for the event.

“Everybody wants to win for health and for happiness,” says William Guo, 45, captain of the Tongzhou team.

“It’s very meaningful for us because today is dragon boat day and this is the Beijing city games.”

Rooted in 2000 years of lore and traditions, this year’s festival set up a long weekend of carnival activities centred around waterways across China. But the sporting prowess is just one part of it.

The dragon boat festival is infused with lessons of patriotism and loyalty. Though it has long been observed in China, it only became a public holiday in 2008 and has been increasingly embraced and sponsored by local governments in line with President Xi Jinping’s nationalistic push to emphasise Chinese cultural heritage.

The day is widely associated with the story of Qu Yuan, an ancient poet and statesman from southern China who advocated political reforms and resistance to a warring neighbouring state, but was ultimately exiled by powerful enemies.

Watching the races with her family is Zhang Yuxin, a 19-year-old student who is planning to take up an offer to study data science at the University of Sydney later this year. The festival can be interpreted in many ways, she says, but she finds a message of national pride and patriotism.

“Qu Yuan is a person who wanted to protect his nation,” Zhang says. “It can express a [strong] spirit and teenagers must protect their countries and make their country become stronger.”

Qu drowned himself in a river, becoming an instant martyr among his followers, who are said to have raced out in boats to search for his body, banging drums and throwing rice into the water to stop the fish from eating his remains.

This legend has continued through dragon boat races but also the eating of zongzi — sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, and traditionally stuffed with either a sweet red bean or date filling or with pork.

“Qu held different political views from the government. He would rather throw himself into the river and die than submit to them. This is the spirit of unyielding perseverance and indomitable resolve,” says Qu Pu, 65, a calligraphy artist who is also watching the races.

“Although this is not a breathtaking festival, it is a holiday deep in my bones and a core childhood memory. Back then, there were not so many programs as there are now.”

Qu recalls waking up at 2am to pick mugwort or calamus roots with his family in the dark — an age-old tradition that involves hanging bouquets of herbs in doorways to ward off disease and insects.

“After coming back, we used to boil eggs and put the mugwort upside-down on the eaves or doors. Then, after eating eggs, we went to school because it was not a public holiday back then,” he says.

As the heavens opened over Beijing and rain bucketed down, umbrellas went up and the dragon boat races continued.

Guo and his Tongzhou team placed fourth in the 200m sprint and seventh in 500m race, leaving room for improvement for next year’s festival.

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