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The Dragon Boat Festival is held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Dragon Boat Festival is also known as Tuen Ng Festival, which is a direct translation from cantonese. Every year, there are decorated dragon boats racing against each other under the beat of drums. This may seem like a happy festival, but it actually originated from a tragedy that dates back to 2000 years ago.
This festival is in memory of Qu Yan, who was a government official that protested against corruption. He committed suicide and drowned himself in Mi Lo River. He was deeply loved by citizens, so they threw in glutinous rice dumplings to prevent the fishes from eating his corpse. Every year, people celebrate and remember his actions by eating dumplings or dipping their hands and legs into rives and lakes. Rice dumplings we eat nowadays are either sweet or savory. Sweet rice dumplings are made from red beans and savory dumplings include; salty egg yolks, pork belly, green beans, mushrooms and dried shrimps. Personal tip: sprinkle some sugar on savory rice dumplings to reduce it's heaviness and greasiness
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One highlight of this festival is the dragon boat races. The dragon boats can be as large as 10 meters and are all carefully painted and decorated before competing. Each boat has a team of 20-22 paddlers and one drummer. The paddlers keep their actions in sync with help of the beat hit by the drummer. The boat that reaches the finish line first is the winner. Don't think that you have to be a paddler to join this event, you could always cheer by the side!
Where to find dragon boat races:
- Stanley Main Beach, Hong Kong Island
- Cheung Chau
- Tai O'
- Victoria Harbor (the biggest race but happens only a few days after the festival)