1, said a: dragon boat racing is said to have originated in ancient times, Chu people because they could not bear to see the wise minister Qu Yuan threw himself into the river to die, many people rowing boats to catch up to save. They scrambled, chased to Dongting Lake when they disappeared. After that, every year on the fifth day of the fifth month to row dragon boats to commemorate the. The dragon boat was used to disperse the fish in the river, so that the fish would not eat Qu Yuan's body. The custom of racing was prevalent in Wu, Yue and Chu.

2, said two: Legend has it that, a long time ago, there is no river on the west bank, there is only a small and dirty ditch. One day, a fisherman caught a small snake in the ditch. This little snake was very peculiar, with nine shining scales on its tail. When the fisherman touched his hand to the scales, the snake's eyes shone with a begging light, very pitiful. The fisherman felt compassion and stroked its scales, and then put it back into the gutter. Who knew that the nine scales suddenly fell, and the little snake grew and danced, transforming into a small dragon.

Originally, it is a divine dragon in the sky, because it violated the rules of the sky, punished by the Jade Emperor, turned into this appearance, its tail was added to the nine locks - is the small snake tail on the nine shining scales. The Jade Emperor once said, "The locks can only be opened with human Yang Qi." The fisherman had inadvertently opened the thousand-year-old lock on the little dragon. The little dragon, in order to thank the fisherman, kept flopping around in the gutter and kept spewing out water from its mouth, filling the small gutter.

Slowly, the small gutter turned into a big river (which is now the West Bank River), and the river brought a bountiful harvest to the West Bank. In honor of this divine dragon, people called the villages along the river Dragon Head Zhai, Shanglongshou and other villages. Dragon boat races are held on the day of the ascension of the divine dragon, the Dragon Boat Festival, to celebrate the occasion.

Extended information:

The dragon boat race has different symbols in different places:

1, Jiangzhe area rowing dragon boat, both locally born in memory of the significance of the modern female democratic revolutionaries Qiu Jin. Night on the dragon boat, lights and colors, to and fro, water and underwater, the scene is moving, interesting.

2, Guizhou Miao people in the lunar calendar in May 25-28 held "Dragon Boat Festival" to celebrate the victory of rice-planting and wishing a good harvest.

3, Yunnan Dai compatriots in the Water Festival Dragon Boat Race, in honor of the ancient heroes of the rock red nest.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Dragon Boat Racing (Dragon Boat Festival Activities)