The Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival, Duānwǔ Jié, Double Fifth, Tuen Ng Jit) is a traditional holiday that commemorates the life and death of the famous Chinese scholar Qu Yuan (Chu Yuan). The festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a celebration where many eat rice dumplings (zongzi), and race dragon boats. All of these activities and games were regarded by the ancients as an effective way of preventing disease, evil, while promoting good health.

What's the Penang International Dragon Boat Festival about?

The Dragon Boat races have been a part of Penang's heritage and culture for decades. The 2013 Penang International Dragon Boat Festival (PIDBF) took place at the Teluk Bahang Dam on 8-9 June 2013.

Local authorities in Penang recognised the Dragon Boat race as a sporting task at some point around 1934. When the race was formally held for the initial time to celebrate the George Town Municipal Council's 100th anniversary in 1956, it became the first to be held outside the coasts of China.

A woman teaches the techniques of making Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, during a contest in celebration of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 9, 2013. The contest was held by a local Chinese association to promote the traditional Chinese festival -- Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day on the fifth month on the lunar calendar.

A contestant makes Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves, during a contest in celebration of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 9, 2013. The contest was held by a local Chinese association to promote the traditional Chinese festival - Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day on the fifth month on the lunar calendar.