Taierzhuang Ancient Town, a popular scenic area along the Grand Canal in Zaozhuang, Shandong province, hosted a dragon boat race on June 12 as part of its celebrations for the Duanwu Festival.

More than 100 athletes representing eight teams competed in the event.

The Duanwu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival, falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. It is a traditional event for people to pray for their health, safety, and well-being. Traditional celebrations include eating zongzi, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.

Dragon boat racing is one of the most popular activities during the Dragon Boat Festival in Taierzhuang Ancient Town. [Photo by Gao Qimin/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Taierzhuang Ancient Town hosts a dragon boat race to celebrate the Duanwu Festival on June 12. [Photo by Gao Qimin/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

People attend the dragon boat race along the Grand Canal in Taierzhuang Ancient Town. [Photo by Gao Qimin/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An aerial photo shows the boats competing with each other along the Grand Canal. [Photo by Gao Qimin/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Dragon Boat Festival is a Chinese traditional festival in which people will traditionally eat zongzi, traditional Chinese rice dumplings, and host dragon boat races. [Photo by Gao Qimin/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]