From early Friday morning, waterways crisscrossing Chinese cities, towns and villages have been reverberating with the rhythmic splash of paddles and the beat of drums as people celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival.
The festive spectacle offers city residents the perfect outing as they begin their three-day break on Friday, while also drawing villagers from nearby areas to cheer for their hometown teams and join the celebrations.
As traditional culture enjoys a resurgence in China, Dragon Boat Festival celebrations are more lively than ever, sparking increased demand for tourism and cultural products. Their economic and social ripple effects extend well beyond the three-day holiday, giving a sustained boost to local tourism and related industries.
Since May, the Jinjiang River winding through Tongren City in southwest China's Guizhou Province has turned into a training ground for dragon boat racers.
While this centuries-old sport traditionally honors Qu Yuan, a legendary poet and minister in the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), who drowned himself in the Miluo River after being slandered and then exiled, its modern-day form continues to bring people together and, in particular, strengthens community bonds.
In Tongren, a city steeped in dragon boat racing tradition, even migrant workers return from distant cities to compete for the honor of their villages and neighborhoods. This deep-rooted devotion has turned the races into a major tourist attraction.
Last year, Tongren's annual event generated 384 million yuan (about 56.4 million U.S. dollars) in tourism revenue, with some 300,000 spectators packing the banks of the Jinjiang River.
Notably, the influx of visitors is no longer confined to the city center. Increasingly, tourists are extending their trips into the countryside, spending their day along the Jinjiang River watching dragon boat races before retreating to mountainous homestays in the evening.
In the nearby Banliyuan Village, bookings at local lodgings are already surging ahead of this year's event. Tang Chengyong, general manager of a homestay complex, said his property, which offers 25 rooms and 47 beds, was fully booked during last year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday. As of June 16, reservations for this year's holiday had already reached 80 percent capacity, with about 90 percent of guests from outside the province.
The festival's growing appeal is drawing visitors to lesser-known counties and rural communities as well. Travelers who venture off the beaten path are often rewarded with a more authentic and lively experience, immersed in celebrations deeply rooted in local traditions.
In Fenyi County, Xinyu City in east China's Jiangxi Province, a county with a written record of racing dragon boats from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126), a dragon boat race event contested by 16 teams from neighboring villages was staged on May 30 and 31, well ahead of this year's Dragon Boat Festival.
Here, victory was rewarded not with medals or prize money, but with livestock: a buffalo for the champions, an ox for runners-up, and three goats for the crew finishing third.
The competition, staged in "Luosi Town," an industrial heritage park, featured 22-person men's dragon boat races over 200-meter and 500-meter distances.
An open-air market selling local specialties, street food and handmade cultural products was set up at the event venue, while discounted admission tickets to nearby attractions were offered to spectators. During the event, the park alone welcomed 57,000 visitors and generated revenue of 396,000 yuan.
Li Shuo, who traveled from Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, said he was impressed by the variety of local specialties and festive activities. He planned to round out his visit with a trip to a nearby ancient village after the event.
Beyond the races, time-honored traditions like hanging mugwort bouquets and savoring zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) are also fueling interest in cultural experiences, handicrafts, and festive foods, giving a sizable boost to local spending in the process.
In Qingyang, a city in northwest China's Gansu Province renowned for its sachet embroidery craft, the Dragon Boat Festival has boosted sales of these local specialty products. For centuries, people have worn embroidered sachets filled with aromatic herbs during the Dragon Boat Festival as symbols of health, happiness and good fortune.
A sachet workshop in Qingyang is currently operating at full capacity, with daily sales reaching roughly 200,000 yuan in recent days, according to Zhang Yuyao, the owner of the workshop. Prices range from 10 yuan to several hundred yuan, and the designs include both traditional patterns, such as tiger heads, and contemporary motifs that appeal to younger buyers.
Another enduring Dragon Boat Festival tradition involves hanging mugwort and calamus on doors and windows to ward off pests or disease.
At flower markets in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu, handmade mugwort bouquets and festive floral arrangements have become highly sought-after holiday decorations.
"Reservations opened ten days in advance, and sales peaked three days before the festival," said Ma Lin, owner of a flower shop in Lanzhou. Daily sales exceeded 70 bouquets, prompting her to hire temporary flower arrangers to meet demand.
Each arrangement combines traditional festival plants with colorful cords symbolizing good fortune and miniature sachets, creating a new holiday ritual that appeals to younger consumers while preserving the charm of an ancient tradition.
"When I was little, my parents would hang a bundle of mugwort by the front door to mark the arrival of the Dragon Boat Festival," said Cui Jingyao, who recently purchased a 40-yuan mugwort bouquet for his home. "Now we're carrying on that tradition in a new way."
