Dragon Boat Festival 2026: Duanwu Jie
Festival guide · 2026
The Dragon Boat Festival (端午節, Duānwǔ Jié) falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month — typically in late May or June. It is a public holiday in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, and is celebrated by Chinese communities worldwide.
The festival is most famously associated with the poet-statesman Qu Yuan (340–278 BCE), who drowned himself in the Miluo River in protest at government corruption. Villagers raced in boats to retrieve his body and threw rice dumplings into the river to distract fish — traditions that continue today.
2026 Dates
| Date | Monday, June 1, 2026 |
Dates are calculated automatically and may vary by ±1 day. Always confirm with your local religious authority.
Traditions & Observance
Dragon Boat Racing
Long, narrow boats decorated with dragon heads and tails are paddled by teams of 10–80 rowers to the beat of a drummer at the bow. Dragon boat racing has grown into an international sport with competitions held on rivers and lakes across Asia, Europe, and North America.
Zongzi (Rice Dumplings)
Zongzi — sticky rice filled with red bean paste, salted egg yolk, pork, or other fillings, wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed — are the festival's signature food. Regional varieties vary widely: Cantonese zongzi are rich with pork and mushroom; Shanghainese versions are sweet with red bean.
Hanging Herbs and Wearing Sachets
Artemisia mugwort and calamus are hung on doorways to ward off disease and evil spirits — a tradition dating to the belief that the 5th lunar month is a dangerous, inauspicious time. Children wear fragrant sachets (xiang bao) filled with herbs and are given bracelets of coloured threads for protection.
Realgar Wine
Drinking realgar wine (xionghuang jiu) — rice wine mixed with realgar powder — is a traditional Dragon Boat Festival custom, believed to repel insects and evil. The famous legend of the White Snake (Bai She Zhuan) involves this tradition: the human disguise of the snake spirit Lady Bai is dissolved when she drinks realgar wine.
Other Years
Dates are based on the Chinese lunar calendar. Public holiday arrangements vary by country.