China is celebrating Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu, over a three-day holiday. Customs and traditions vary from region to region. CGTN's Xu Mengqi brings us to the city of Jiaxing in East China's Yangtze River Delta for a look at how it's marked there.

A five-minute countdown, to see who wraps the traditional sticky rice dumplings called "zongzi", faster and better. In the eastern Chinese city of Jiaxing, the folk customs associated with the dragon boat festival, or duanwu as it is called in Chinese, have been listed as a national intangible cultural heritage. This rice-dumpling wrapping challenge attracts hundreds of contestants.

Ge Yanping Jiaxing Resident "This is tradition, and it's the pride of our Jiaxing people."

As popular as the zongzi contest are the annual dragon boat races. For many locals, the competition is an integral part of their duanwu experience.

Reporter: Do you participate in the race every year?

Gu Hanchu Jiaxing Resident "Every year. It's been a few years now. It's a lot of fun."

Participants say celebrations this year have been scaled down because of the coronavirus. But the events are live-streamed so people staying in can also enjoy the festival.

Xu Mengqi Jiaxing, Zhejiang province "Various folk customs are observed during the dragon boat festival, but almost all of them serve the same purpose: driving away evil spirits and wishing for good health."

"So this can be applied to the forehead?"

"Yes, this is realgar. It was used to chase away illnesses and evil things in ancient times."

"This is calamus and mugwort. It is used to pray for good health and eliminate diseases."

The illnesses that people hoped to ward off, have a lot to do with insects and snakes, known as Wu Du, or the five evils. Making and wearing perfumed sachets with herbs that can keep away disease or evil, have also become a tradition.

Sheng Haoxuan Primary School Student "I've gotta be patient. If I'm wrong with one go I ruin the whole thing."

Parents say duanwu is an occasion for family time, and a chance to educate children about intangible traditions that not even a pandemic can take away. Xu Mengqi, CGTN, Jiaxing, Zhejiang province.

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