Wuxi Dragon Boat Festival? [Photo from wuxinews.com.cn]

Dragon lantern?dance in??Dragon Boat Festival? [Photo from wuxinews.com.cn]

Dragon Boat Festival is on May 5 of the lunar calendar. Wuxi locals will have rice dumplings for breakfast. Lunch is considered very important.?Locals often kill geese and chicken for dinner and drink realgar wine on this day.

The realgar wine can be sprinkled on the floor, rubbed on the body, or used to write the word “king” on the forehead of children to protect them from disease and poison.

Some people hang wormwood or Acorus calamus on the door, also known as aiqi or aijian, to protect themselves from evil spirits. Others also use wormwood to fumigate, sterilize and disinfect chambers.

The dragon boat race is a gala of Wuxi that takes place in the Yangtze River Delta on Dragon Boat Festival. It was popular in the period of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties?and before the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Now, Huangbudun in Beitang district and Swan Lake of Dangkou town have become boat racing destinations.