Residents in south China's Guangdong Province and east China's Zhejiang Province celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival with a rich array of distinctive local traditions.

With a history of more than 2,000 years, the Dragon Boat Festival is a national holiday celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar every year, honoring Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC), a famous poet from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) who is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical verses.

This year, the Dragon Boat Festival was celebrated on May 31, and the holiday runs from May 31 to June 2.
Dragon boat racing and eating zongzi, a glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves, are common traditions during the time-honored Dragon Boat Festival. However, in some parts of China, people mark the occasion in unique and locally distinctive ways.

In Shunde District of Foshan City, Guangdong Province, residents celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival by splashing water on one another during dragon boat races.

"It's fun, because I like water, and this is different from the traditional Water-Splashing Festival," said a tourist from Ethiopia.
Accompanied by the rhythmic beating of drums, nearly 80 dragon boats made their way slowly along the century-old waterway as more than 2,000 paddlers rowed with vigor. Onshore, tourists joined in the fun by splashing each other with water guns, basins, and other tools, creating a refreshing and festive atmosphere.

"I wanted to bring [my child] here to experience the water-splashing tradition. The Dragon Boat Festival tradition here is called Youlong, which is entirely different from [regular dragon boat races]. It's a lot of fun, and my baby also really enjoyed it," said a tourist.

"Guanniu," a traditional bullfighting performance listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item, is a time-honored event held annually during the Dragon Boat Festival in Jiaxing City, east China's Jiangsu Province.

The 14th Guanniu Bullfighting Competition took place on Friday night, one day ahead of this year's Dragon Boat Festival, and for the first time featured international participants.

"The bull is very strong. The bull doesn't want to fall down. But we learned from the master who taught us the technique, so this is a good experience for us," said Michael John Steedman, a participant from New Zealand.