Huangshan City in east China's Anhui Province hosted a series of traditional cultural events on Saturday, including "Jumping Zhong Kui" and a long-table banquet, to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, offering a unique cultural feast to visitors from near and far.
On Yansi Old Street in Huizhou District, Huangshan City, performers of "Jumping Zhong Kui" danced to a vibrant rhythm. With a history spanning over 400 years, this fierce exorcism ritual is believed to ward off evil and bring blessings of safety, health, and prosperity.
"You can only see this performance on Yansi Old Street in Huizhou District, so we made a special trip to watch it again. The performance is really impressive," said a visitor.
At dawn, a long-table banquet was set up along the street, with tables arranged in a row stretching over 100 meters. More than 180 seniors aged 65 and above gathered around to enjoy the traditional "Ba Wan Ba" -- a Huizhou-style cuisine featuring eight distinct dishes, along with pillow-shaped zongzi, a festive delicacy made of sticky rice and various fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves. As they dined, the seniors chatted with one another, fully immersed in the joyful holiday atmosphere.
"We come together to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, enjoying a long-table banquet with eight dishes and zongzi. Everyone has a great time, and the atmosphere is cheerful and lively," said Hu Zhihua, a local who joined the celebration.
The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, it fell on Saturday, May 31.
Dragon Boat Festival celebrated in Huangshan with traditional dance, grand banquet
The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting concluded in east China's Suzhou on Saturday, yielding fruitful results and laying significant groundwork for the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November.
The trade ministers' meeting focused on "building an open and predictable regional and multilateral economic and trade order" and "fostering new engines of innovative and dynamic trade and investment cooperation."
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao briefed the media on the meeting's outcomes at a press conference.
Wang said the meeting issued a joint statement titled the Suzhou Statement, and approved the latest edition of the APEC Roadmap for Innovative, Competitive and Resilient Services.
All parties agreed to advance policy innovation and reform in services trade, build an open and predictable investment environment, improve regional trade facilitation and supply chain resilience, strengthen standards coordination, and enhance intellectual property protection, Wang told the media.
He also said that substantial progress was made on a framework document for regional digital trade cooperation and the ministers emphasized promoting inclusive AI development, strengthening AI-related trade, and bridging the digital divide to ensure shared benefits from digital transformation.
The minister noted that the outcomes of the meeting demonstrated strong cooperation willingness, highlighted an innovation-oriented approach, and reflected inclusiveness and shared benefits. "The fact that Asia-Pacific economies can come together, uphold the original aspiration of promoting trade and investment liberalization and facilitation while supporting economic growth and prosperity, and engage in in-depth discussions on the important issue of 'where multilateral and regional economic and trade cooperation is headed,' fully demonstrates that open regionalism and true multilateralism enjoy broad support, and that mutual success and shared development serve the fundamental interests of all economies," Wang said.
2026 APEC trade ministers' meeting concludes with fruitful results
