Dragon Boat Festival

On the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, in China it is called  端午节(duan wu jie), the west we call it Dragon Boat Festival.  Every year in Suzhou there is a dragon boat race on Jinji Lake which is very near to our house. Last year we went to watch a few of the races.

 We got a decent spot at the starting line. Unfortunately we only got to watch a couple of minutes then our view of the race was obstructed by a building. Little O didn't mind at all. He enjoyed watching all the people and the next group of racers getting ready.

 Just before the first race a group of paragliders when flying past. Everyone was excited to see them go whizzing past.

 The boats were brightly colored. There were many different groups. There were even a few boats that had all foreigners rowing.

 

 The traditional food of Dragon Boat Festival is 粽子(zong zi), or stick rice dumplings. I had not had one of these before so we stopped to get one on our way back to the subway. These dumplings are made from glutinous rice and stuffed with different fillings, then wrapped in a bamboo leaf before being boiled. I am glad that I gave them a try, but this is one of the many Chinese food items that is not for me.

This years Dragon Boat Festival is just a week away. I don't plan on trying the traditional food, but I do hope that we can make it over to the lake to see a few of the races.