The Dragon Boat Festival is one of our favourite traditional festivals celebrated in Hong Kong. Aside from getting some carb-action with a variety of rice dumplings and watching dragon boat races, how much do you know about this holiday? From its origin and customs to festivities that take place all across the city, our handy guide will take you through everything there is to know about celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival in Hong Kong.
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Also known as ‘Tuen Ng Festival’ in Cantonese, the Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (usually late May or early June). It is a public holiday in Hong Kong, where people gather to honour the life and legacy of the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan.
There are a few legends as to how the Dragon Boat Festival came to be and why it’s celebrated. But the most famous one of all is the story of Qu Yuan. A patriotic poet of the Chu State during the Zhou Dynasty, Qu Yuan was exiled from Chu after opposing to form a political alliance with the state of Qin, which was believed to be corrupt. When the state of Chu eventually fell, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River out of despair on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Upon learning of Qu's death, villagers raced out in boats with paddles and beating drums and threw rice dumplings into the water in an attempt to keep fish and evil spirits away from his body – thus, the custom of eating rice dumplings and dragon boat racing was born.
In Hong Kong, dragon boat racing is the most popular activity during the Dragon Boat Festival (I mean, the clue is in the name). Dating back thousands of years in history, dragon boat racing sees teams comprised of paddlers, a drummer, and a steersperson racing against each other in long, narrow boats. This exciting activity is not just a popular sport in Hong Kong, but also around the world with competitions held in countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, the UK, Australia, and more.
It wouldn’t be a true holiday without some festive eats. Eating zongzi, or sticky rice dumplings, is a significant custom for the Dragon Boat Festival. Wrapped with bamboo leaves, zongzi are made with glutinous rice stuffed with sweet – usually lotus seed or red bean paste – or savoury fillings such as pork belly, conpoy, beans, and salted egg yolks. Simply steam or boil them and serve with soy sauce or white sugar to enjoy.
Nowadays, there are tons of different variations on zongzi, with restaurants and hotels all rolling out their own version of this traditional festive food. See our list of the best ones to try.
In ancient times, it was believed that balancing an egg on its tip would bring good luck. Folks also thought that the best time to attempt this feat was at noon during the Dragon Boat Festival, which later studies suggest that it was due to the strong gravitational pull between the sun and the earth during this time. Whether this is true or not is a question for another day, but it's simply something fun that everyone can get involved – so make sure you fill up that egg tray!
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