The Ultimate Guide to Join the Dragon Boat Festival in Taiwan

source: Lukang dragon boat racing

What is Dragon Boat Festival?

Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is one of the main family holidays in Taiwan. Most of people in Taiwan spend the holiday with families eating, drinking, and watching dragon boat races. Some may participate in the spiritual practices or folk traditions. The festival has a history over 2000 years and is well celebrated in the Chinese-descent communities all over the world. It is on the 5^th day of the 5^th month of the lunar calendar every year, which usually falls into some day in June.

source: Lukang dragon boat racing

We strongly recommend you to join the celebration if you plan to visit Taiwan in June. There are activities everywhere around the island. Among those, Lukang Dragon Boat Festival in the central west of Taiwan is probably the largest and the most well-known among the tourists. Scroll down for more details.

The Legend

The holiday commemorates Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet, patriot and minister in the state of Chu during China’s Warring States Period (475-221 BCE).  When the state of Qin conquered Chu, the poet drowned himself in despair. Legend has it that a crowd beat the river with paddles and threw food in the river to keep fish from eating Qu’s body. Today’s dragon boat races and Zongzi (a.k.a sticky rice dumplings) originated from that legend.

The Traditions in Taiwan

source: wiki

Zongzi (a.k.a sticky rice dumplings):    

Zong is filling-stuffed, steamed sticky rice wrapped in bamboo, reed, or other large flat leaves. It usually comes in a triangle shape in Taiwan but other shapes can be seen sometimes. It is available year round but especially featured during the holiday. We will have a more in-depth coverage about Zong in another post.

Realgar Wine:   

“Realgar wine or xionghuang wine is a Chinese alcoholic drink that consists of Chinese cereal wine (huangjiu, "yellow wine") dosed with powdered realgar, a yellow-orange arsenic sulfide mineral (As4S4). “  -  Wiki. It is usually consumed during the festival. But nowadays people in Taiwan often drink modern alcohols such as beer, wine or other liquors instead.

source: wiki

Spiritual practices:     

In Taoism, the day (the 5^th day of 5^th month in the lunar calendar) has the most Yang energy of the year, strongest during 11 am to 1 pm of the day. Therefore, it is also a holiday that people do spiritual practices in Taiwan to dispel insects and bad spirits and get good luck.  

If you would like to experience spell-writing ceremonies, the magic yang hour (i.e. 11 am to 1 pm) would be your best to catch these events. The following spiritual practices are most common in Taiwan during the festival.

1.  Going to a temple. Some people would like to get the amulet blessed during the magic hour of the day in a temple.

2. Preparing offerings to the deities.

3. Wearing small perfumed Chinese medicine sachets

4.  Hanging banyan leaves, mugwort leaves, lemongrass and Calamus by the door.  It is believed that the aroma from these plants can ward off insects and bad spirits.

5. Playing a game of making an egg stand at noon. If you make the egg stand at exactly noon, you will have luck for the next year. This is more of a game for kids in the festival.

source: Lukang dragon boat racing

Dragon Boat Race:  

Dragon boat racing is a team paddling sport. Originated 2000 years ago in China, it has become an international sport since the 70s. You can watch or participate in a dragon boat race anywhere in Taiwan during the festival. 

We suggest you to plan at least 2 days to join the international race festival in Lukang, one of the oldest towns in Taiwan with many historical remains. With more than 35 years of history, the 3-day festival features the race, culture traditions, and a market with traditional food and entertainments. Google the festival in May to get the details before you go. And don’t forget about your sun blocks and hats.

Mixing festival fun during your trip in Taiwan is always an exciting way to explore the local culture.  Have you joined the Dragon Boat Festival in Taiwan? Tell us how it was. Please contact us for any questions or assistance. You can find the best hotel deals below, 

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