Get taste of Dragon Boat Festival in Wuxi

The Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese calendar. This year's Dragon Boat Festival falls on June 7.

During this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday, famous scenic areas in Wuxi such as Turtle Head Isle, Xihui scenic area and Plum Garden will organize various kinds of activities to allow tourists to have different experiences during the holiday.

Turtle Head Isle

Turtle Head Isle is a perfect place for tourists to admire the beauty of flowers such as calamus and hydrangea as these two flowers have entered their full blossom period. A total of more than 150 kinds of calamus flowers are planted in the wetlands near the Taihu Lake in Turtle Head Isle scenic area.

During the holiday, special shuttle buses will be put into operation to make it convenient for tourists to have a close look at calamus and hydrangea in the scenic area.

Xihui scenic area

Dragon Boat Festival is best known for its dragon-boat races commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, an honest minister who is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.

Activities such as dry-land dragon boat racing, pastry and rice dumpling tasting fair, tea ceremony performance and erhu (traditional Chinese two-string musical instrument) performance will be held during the three-day holiday. Sales exhibitions for products related to Dragon Boat Festival will also be organized in the scenic area.

Plum Garden

A folk culture festival will be held in Plum Garden scenic area during the holiday, integrating interesting events such as admiring hydrangea, experiencing traditional techniques and tasting distinctive delicacies.

The sixth hydrangea exhibition of Plum Garden, lasting until July, showcases over 28,000 hydrangeas in 26 species and the total planting area of hydrangea amounts to about 5,000 square meters. Other events such as poetry reading of Qu Yuan’s works and fair in the style of the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220) will be held along with free experiential activities including crab fishing, tasting plum wine and making steamed buns.

Wuxi Animal Zoo

During the Dragon Boat Festival, cute animals in Wuxi Animal Zoo such as giant pandas, tigers, parrots and elephants will all get their special "rice dumplings" made of their favorite foods.

The zoo has also prepared different activities such as dry-land dragon boat racing and the real race between hare and tortoise will bring joy to everyone.

Wuxi Movie/TV production base

The DIY activity themed on traditional fold culture organized by Wuxi Movie/TV production base during the holiday allows both adults and children to experience the fun of making sachets and duck egg nets.

In addition, Wuxi Movie/TV production base integrates traditional culture with modern technology, bringing a new definition to "Six Arts", or liù yì, of ancient China, namely rites, music, archery, chariot racing, calligraphy and mathematics.