If you’re a Portlander, chances are you’ve seen — or even paddled in — one of our city’s popular dragon boat races each summer. But did you know there is a 2,300-year-old story and a famous rice snack behind those races?
Every year on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, communities across China and around the world celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Festival (Duanwu Jie, 端午節). Colorful dragon boats race across the water, fragrant herbs hang from doorways, and families gather to enjoy one of the season’s most iconic treats: zongzi (粽子), sticky rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.
But behind every zongzi is the story of a man named Qu Yuan (屈原).
Born more than 2,300 years ago, Qu Yuan was a poet, scholar, and advisor in the State of Chu. After political rivals turned the king against him, he was banished from court. In exile, he wrote some of China’s most enduring poetry, including Li Sao (離騷). When he learned that Chu’s capital had fallen, Qu Yuan, heartbroken by the loss of his homeland, walked to the Miluo River and cast himself into its waters.
According to legend, local villagers rushed out in their boats to search for him. They paddled furiously across the river, beating drums to scare away fish and river creatures. Over time, those desperate rescue efforts evolved into the dragon boat races celebrated around the world today.
The villagers also tossed packets of rice into the river, hoping the fish would eat the rice instead of disturbing Qu Yuan’s body. Over the centuries, those humble rice bundles evolved into the zongzi we know today.
I still remember the first time I told this story to my American husband. He paused mid-bite, swallowed a mouthful of zongzi, and asked, “Wait… so this was originally fish food?“
Well… sort of.
More accurately, it was “please don’t eat our beloved poet” fish food.
Personally, I find it remarkable that Qu Yuan’s legacy survived not through statues, palaces, or military victories, but through poetry, memory, and food. More than two millennia later, people are still reading his words, racing
dragon boats in his honor, and sharing bamboo-leaf-wrapped rice dumplings with friends and family. That’s quite a long afterlife for a snack.
Travel across China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, and you’ll discover countless regional varieties of zongzi. Some are savory, filled with braised pork, mushrooms, salted duck egg yolks, chestnuts, or peanuts. Others are sweet, featuring red bean paste, dates, or sweetened rice. Families often have fierce loyalties to their favorite styles, and debating which zongzi is best may be almost as old as the festival itself.
Come Make Zongzi With Us!
This year, the Dragon Boat Festival falls on June 19. Here at Lan Su, I invite you to celebrate this delicious tradition with us.
On Saturday, June 13, join culinary educator Anna Xu for a live zongzi demonstration and learn the art and history behind these beloved festival treats. Best of all, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a free sweet zongzi giveaway while supplies last.
Then, if you’re feeling brave, we invite you to try making your own.
On Friday, June 20, roll up your sleeves for a hands-on zongzi-making experience led by our neighbor Tommy Ly of GeekEasy Cafe. Learn how to fold bamboo leaves, wrap sticky rice, pork belly, and tie your very own zongzi bundle. Fair warning: it is much harder than it looks. Don’t believe me?
Just look at the photo of my own zongzi-making attempt in a cooking class during my last trip to China.
My failed attempt of wrapping zongzi during my last trip to China.
Let’s just say my third try would have made every Chinese auntie in the room quietly reach over and fix it for me. Fortunately, you’ll have Tommy as your instructor instead of me.
Whether you come for the poetry, the history, or the sticky rice, Dragon Boat Festival reminds us that culture often survives in the most unexpected ways. Sometimes in books. Sometimes in songs. And sometimes, wrapped carefully inside a bamboo leaf and shared around a table.
Tommy Ly is the owner of our Oldtown neighbor, GeekEasy Café.
Venus Sun
Senior Director of Experience
Lan Su Chinese Garden
Leave a Reply