Traditional customs mark Dragon Boat Festival

Students chant poems at Qu Yuan Temple in Zigui county, Central China's Hubei province, June 8, 2013. [Photo/ cflac.org.cn]

3. Poem chanting

In ancient times the government of Zhaoxian county, North China's Hebei province held a gathering at the southern gate during the Dragon Boat Festival. Scholars were invited to a banquet where they could drink and write poems.

The activity was called "Ta Liu" or "Stepping the willow" and later developed into poem chanting.