Celebration of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival in Beijing

Contestants take a rest during a dragon boat racing in celebration of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival in Fengtai District of Beijing, Saturday May 23, 2009. The Duanwu Festival, or 'Dragon Boat Festival', was established in remembrance of Qu Yuan, a ministerial scholar and patriotic poet who committed suicide in the Miluo River during the Warring States period. The traditional celebrations include eating zongzi (pyramid-shaped snacks made of glutinous rice ball stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves), drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats. The festival date, reckoned on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, falls on May 28th this year.

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