Photos: Colourful dragon boat festival held across China

Dragon boats get together during as they take part in the annual Tuen Ng or Dragon Boat Festival at Hong Kong's Aberdeen . May 30th marks the fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional Chinese calendar — an annual celebration known as Duanwu in Mandarin, Tuen Ng in Cantonese and the Dragon Boat Festival in the West. It’s famous for the races held on that day in traditional paddled long boats, each ornamented with a dragon’s head at the prow. (REUTERS)

Updated on: May 30, 2017 6:43 PM IST

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Dragon boats get together during as they take part in the annual Tuen Ng or Dragon Boat Festival at Hong Kong's Aberdeen . May 30th marks the fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional Chinese calendar — an annual celebration known as Duanwu in Mandarin, Tuen Ng in Cantonese and the Dragon Boat Festival in the West. It’s famous for the races held on that day in traditional paddled long boats, each ornamented with a dragon’s head at the prow. (REUTERS)

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The annual holiday is to commemorate the life of scholar and poet Qu Yuan, who lived between 340 and 278BC, during the State of Chu. (REUTERS)

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Dragon boat teams compete during the race in Hong Kong (AP)

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Teams of dragon boat racers paddle their boats during the Dragon Boat festival at the Olympic Water Park in Beijing. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

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Crew members prepare their boat before a dragon boat race during the Dragon Boat festival . (Mark Schiefelbein /AP)

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Dragon Boat Festival is now known best internationally for the dragon boat races, which are essentially a more extravagant version of rowing. (REUTERS)

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Participants paddle on bamboo poles during the Dragon Boat festival . (Chen Chao / REUTERS)

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Participants splash water during a ceremony in between races during Tung Ng or Dragon Boat Festival. (Bobby Yip / REUTERS)

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For the non-racers in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and diaspora communities worldwide, the real highlight of the holiday is the special foods and drinks associated with it. (REUTERS)

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Performers throw molten iron against a wall to create sparks. (REUTERS)

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Although the Dragon Boat Festival has been a part of Chinese culture for centuries, but it became an official holiday in China in 2008. (AFP)

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Participants take part in the 2017 China Longzhou Tournament, a dragon boat race held to celebrate the Dragon Boat festival, in Fuzhou, Fujian province. Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated across East Asia. (REUTERS)

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Dragon boats compete during the annual Tuen Ng or Dragon Boat Festival at Hong Kong's Aberdeen. (Bobby Yip / REUTERS)