How to play traditional games for the Dragon Boat Festival

RNZ News

30-05-2025

Photo:
RNZ / Ruth Kuo
The Dragon Boat Festival is typically a time of nostalgia as Chinese households think back with fondness of their time as children in summer in East Asia.
With the weather now warm enough to enjoy time outside in the Northern Hemisphere, children spend hours upon hours playing traditional games that have ties to the season.
Eventually growing up to become adults, many struggle to leave these games behind.
Here's a handful of traditional Chinese games for children that stand out for their uniqueness as much as their longevity over time.
Grass duels are as simple as they are ingenious.
With pastures thickening in the warmer temperatures, two children select what they think look like strong grass stems and engage in a delicate tug of war.
The children interlock two blades of stems holding the ends in each hand.
At the signal, they pull both ends towards them until one snaps, sending the loser tumbling.
The victor then waits for another challenger to confront them, silently praying they don't come armed with a thicker stem.
Deceptively simple and endlessly uncertain, the game tests one's grip and reflexes - no one knows who'll be the last one standing.
Photo:
RNZ / Ruth Kuo
Eggs are ubiquitous during the Dragon Boat Festival as various poultry seemingly lay them by the dozen at this time of year.
It's not surprising, then, that children use them in duels to determine which cracks first.
The rules are as simple as the game above: Two children press hard-boiled eggs against each other.
The egg that cracks is deemed the loser and its owner devours the contents.
The winner moves on to the next challenger.
It's common to find children in parts of China that carry eggs of their choice in colourful pouches hanging around their necks.
In some regions, the eggs are dyed bright red to bring good luck.
The games are decided by those who master grip and angle, with some forming a crook with their thumb and forefinger to support the tip as the shells press against each other.
Photo:
RNZ / Ruth Kuo
Some parts of China have a tradition of standing eggs on their ends for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Folklore has it that eggs can be balanced in this way at specific times of the year.
Those who believe in the complementary, contradictory principles of yin and yang say the active, expansive energies of yang usually peak for the Dragon Boat Festival, creating perfect conditions for an egg to stand.
Contemporary theory has it that the sun's position over the Northern Hemisphere during the spring equinox or Dragon Boat Festival slightly offsets gravity, making it easier to balance eggs - or even coins.
There is no scientific proof for either theory, but it doesn't stop children from trying to succeed in completing the challenge.
Photo:
RNZ / Ruth Kuo
Children in China typically wear brightly coloured ornaments that have been made from five vibrantly coloured threads during the Dragon Boat Festival.
The five colours - red, green, yellow, white and black - represent fire, wood, earth, metal and water under the "five elements theory", countering the "five pests" that exist in the universe - centipedes, snakes, scorpions, geckos and toads - and offering good health and protection.
Following a custom that dates to the Han Dynasty, adults tie the ornaments around children's wrists, ankles or necks on the morning of the festival.
Tradition demands the children to remain silent while this is being done, and so parents typically complete the task while they are asleep.
In some regions, the threads are removed when during the first rainfall following the Dragon Boat Festival and cast into a river, which symbolises the washing away of illness and leaving behind well-being.
Photo:
RNZ / Ruth Kuo
Families in southern China typically take advantage of the strong winds that to fly kites.
Traditional kites are made with bamboo frames, with auspicious symbols or blessings painted on paper or silk sails.
In some parts of China, kites are flown in an attempt to "release misfortune", sending illness and bad luck that are believed to come with the rain as the seasons change away with the wind.
In ancient times, people held archery competitions during the Dragon Boat Festival, aiming at centipedes, snakes, scorpions, geckos and toads that were painted on targets.
Children typically joined in the fun by throwing stones at the targets.
Members of the aristocracy refined the game over time, tossing arrows from a distance into a pitch-pot that was placed on the ground.
The pitch-pot game is believed to have played by aristocrats and officials in China's Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
In contemporary times, participants use chopsticks instead of arrows as they seek to land the elongated pieces of wood in the tall cannisters.
Photo:
RNZ / Ruth Kuo
Zongzi are sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves and tied together with cotton string, hemp string or traditional grass rope, making ideal targets to hook on a fishing line.
Participants use fishing lines or improvised hooks to try to snare as many as possible within a set time.
The person who lands the largest number of dumplings in that time is declared the winner.
Families who don't have any dumplings can use toys or small gifts wrapped with a ribbon as an alternative.
Photo:
RNZ / Ruth Kuo
Although it's not a game per se, another tradition typically observed by Chinese families during the Dragon Boat Festival is the regular appearance of tigers.
The tiger is the king of beasts in Chinese culture - a fierce guardian that is rooted in folk belief and Taoist tradition.
Households traditionally hung tigers made from mugwort from doors during the festival to ward off pests and misfortune.
Over time, cloth and brocade have been increasingly used to craft the talisman.
In some parts of China, children wear hats and shoes with the image of a tiger.
In another custom, parents use realgar wine to draw the Chinese character for "king" - 王 - on a child's forehead, symbolising their transformation into a little tiger.
The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on Saturday, 31 May, this year.
Some members of New Zealand's Chinese community are bound to observe a few of these traditions over the coming weekend, so don't hesitate to join them in on the fun if you happen to stumble across them.