Dragon Boat Festival (Miluo Duanwu Customs)

The Miluo Duanwu customs arose along the banks of the river where Qu Yuan gave his life for his state. Folk are said to have raced boats to drive off fish and offered zongzi to honour him, a custom passed down for generations and already widespread by the Northern Song. In 2006 "Dragon Boat Festival (Miluo Duanwu Customs)" entered the first national ICH list (item X-3), and in 2009 it joined the Duanwu customs of Zigui and Huangshi in Hubei and Suzhou in Jiangsu as "Chinese Dragon Boat Festival" on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

In villages along the river the Duanwu customs go beyond the usual feast, zongzi, mugwort and calamus, realgar wine and boat-racing to include carving the dragon-head, "stealing the sacred timber" and chanting praises, with dragon-boat racing and rites to Qu Yuan at their heart.

The Miluo Duanwu customs are a key wellspring of Dragon Boat culture, carrying the folk memory of Qu Yuan and the festival tradition of the old land of Chu, of irreplaceable value for studying the origins, evolution and living folklore of the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival.