Wednesday, June 16 marked an important holiday on the Chinese calendar. Dragon Boat Festival is a national holiday in countries like Taiwan and is celebrated by racing Dragon Boats, eating special foods, and partaking in a few local traditions. Most employees had the day off and took time to celebrate with family and friends at festivals throughout the island.
Although many of the big internationally recognized Dragon Boat races took place over the preceding weekend, in cities like Kaohsiung, there were a number of smaller events going on Wednesday for those who wanted to partake in a traditional Chinese celebration.
Yilan, on the northeastern coast of Taiwan, held a small festival at Dongshan Water Park. People braved the increasingly hot and humid temperatures to come out and enjoy the races and nibble on some traditional festival foods.
People lined the street bridge to watch the Dragon Boats race down the channel while others lined the banks to enjoy a leisurely day at the park with their families. A few game booths entertained children while most people crowded the food booths to enjoy local Taiwanese specialties like grilled sausage on a stick and peanut cilantro ice cream.
Other events in Taiwan included the Nantou County's Central Taiwan Dragon Boat Race and the Taipei County Council and Taipei County Athletic Association's race along the Sindian River in southern Taipei. This event will have a final race on June 20 where the champion will be awarded a cash prize of NT $600,000 (US $18,600).
Dragon Boat Festival is an important holiday in Chinese culture. To learn more about the history, traditions, and food of Dragon Boat Festival, please see Chinese Dragon Boat Festival: History, traditions and foods found during this important holiday.
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