HONG KONG – Dragon boat races made a comeback to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and other places across the Chinese mainland on Friday, as people celebrated the annual Duanwu Festival, also known as Dragon Boat Festival. 

A dragon boat race was held in Aberdeen in Hong Kong's Southern District. The event featured a new element: a costume role-playing competition that allowed participants to showcase their creativity while rowing.

An invitation event in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, also attracted neighboring dragon boat associations to participate, creating a festive and exciting atmosphere. 

Other than dragon boat races, another highlight of the traditional Chinese festival is delicacy zongzi - glutinous rice with various fillings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.

The festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar to commemorate Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet and minister of the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). Qu drowned himself in the Miluo River after he was banished and accused of treason for his well-intended advice to the king.

Legend has it that upon learning of his death, local people took to boats on the river in search of his body, dropping rice into the water in an effort to prevent the fish from eating him.

China Daily's photographers Edmond Tang, DJ Clark and Parker Zheng took the photos of the annual traditional festive events.