Feast of culture for the festival
Tourist attractions across Shanghai have prepared a feast of activities, shows and exhibitions for the three-day Dragon Boat Festival from Friday, the city's cultural and tourism authorities said on Wednesday.
Fengjing Ancient Town in Jinshan District will host a zongzi (glutinous rice dumpling) making competition on Friday, and visitors are invited to sip Fengjing yellow wine, one of the four treasures of the watertown, according to the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism.
Guyi Garden in Jiading District will present exhibitions related to Chinese culture and the festival. These include a display of sachets, traditional crafts and herbs.
A calamus exhibition will be held at the Jiangnan-style classical garden throughout the festival, accompanied by guqin (Chinese zither) performances.
It’s a festival tradition for Chinese to hang mugwort and calamus on their doors to ward off evil spirits as well as the bugs that appear in early summer.
Visitors will be invited to make sachets to repel bugs such as mosquitoes and there will be a lecture on calamus.
A summer flower exhibition opens at Chenshan Botanical Garden in Songjiang District on Friday, featuring fragrant plantain and day lilies. The exhibition will comprise five display areas and run through June 24. Lectures on plants will be held during the holiday.
At Shanghai Grandview Garden in Qingpu District, the fictional residence of the rich family in the literary classic "A Dream of the Red Masions" scenes from the novel will be performed and Huju and Yueju operas will be staged on Friday. Visitors will also be treated to kung fu performances and hanfu (traditional Han Chinese dress) shows.
Guangfulin Relics Park in Songjiang District will organize two dragon boat races and a Dragon Boat Festival bazaar.
There will also be a dragon boat race at Mingzhu Lake Park in Chongming District during the holiday.
The Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower in the Pudong New Area is hosting qipao culture activities with a multimedia projection show “Dream•Shanghai."
Shanghai Film Park in Songjiang District will stage acrobatic and Chinese opera performances during the holiday, and visitors will be able to learn how to make sachets and zongzi.
Traditional folk crafts such as shadow play, papercutting and straw-weaving will be displayed, and stunt shows will be staged during the holiday.
Shanghai Happy Valley in Songjiang is organizing longtang (alleyway) games for visitors, and there will be a sachet wall conveying good blessings.
An environmental protection art installation exhibition related to the ocean is underway at Changfeng Ocean World in Putuo District, which will host DIY classes to turn waste into paintings.
Shanghai Auto Museum in Jiading District will invite visitors to have a trip in five classic cars and learn about their history.
Visitors will enjoy free admission to Shanghai Oriental Land in Qingpu District on Friday if they wear hanfu. Folk custom performances such as dances and tea ceremonies will be held, together with dragon boat racing, zongzi and sachet making, and hanfu experiences.
At Pujiang Countryside Park in Minhang District, visitors will experience Chinese mugwort weaving and sachet-making activities.
An international sand sculpture exhibition will take place at the City Beach in Jinshan District during the holiday, and there will also be a dragon boat race at Gongqing Forest Park in Yangpu District.