A rich array of cultural activities has been held across China to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, such as the iconic dragon boat races, making zongzi, and art performances.
The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is a traditional Chinese holiday to commemorate ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan from the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.). Celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the festival falls on May 31 this year.
In Jiangmen City of south China's Guangdong Province, a dragon boat race involving 36 teams from around the world was held on Saturday, packing the banks of the local Tanjiang River with spectators.
A wetland park in Nanling County of east China's Anhui Province has also hosted an exhilarating 500m straight dragon boat race during the three-day holiday ending Monday, attracting a lot of visitors to the park.
In Changsha, capital city of central China's Hunan Province, a fun race using inflatable "land dragon boats" was held on Sunday at the Daze Lake Wetland Park, engaging many visitors in the activity and creating a lively atmosphere with cheerful laughters at the park.
The park has also set up an interactive game area and a cultural fair, where visitors can play doucao games, make lacquer fans, and learn how to wrap zongzi, a traditional food of the Duanwu Festival made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings.
In Shijiazhuang, capital city of north China's Hebei Province, various dancing performances, such as dragon dances and lion dances, have been staged at the Zhengding ancient city during the holiday, presenting a lively feast for the eyes of the visitors.
"I think this show provides us the opportunity to learn about the history of the Zhengding ancient city as well as the outstanding traditional Chinese culture. The performances are all amazing and beautiful," said a visitor.
Themed activities held across China to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival
Themed activities held across China to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival
Axis powers during World War II should offer sincere reflection and apology, a Greek mayor said after Greece successfully repatriated a rare collection of 262 World War II-era photographs.
Greek officials traveled to Belgium to negotiate with the seller and brought the photographs back to Greece, after they were put up for sale online by a Belgian collector, said the Greek Culture Ministry.
The images were taken by Wehrmacht lieutenant Hermann Heuer, who served in Greece from 1943 to 1944, during World War II, and part of the collection documents the mass execution of Greek communists by Nazi troops in Kaisariani, east of Athens.
During World War II, German occupation in Greece met with fierce resistance. On May 1, 1944, German forces executed 200 Greeks at the Kaisariani firing range in retaliation for the killing of a German general by resistance fighters.
A memorial and a museum were set up after the war in Kaisariani to commemorate those who died in the mass execution.
"The photos really shocked us all because they were real documents from the day of the execution. We are shocked for many reasons. An important reason is that the 200 communists were singing with their heads held high before the execution in the photos, and they were not mourning because they were fighters," said Ilias Stamelos, mayor of Kaisariani.
The newly recovered photographs have drawn renewed attention to the historical trauma still felt in the community, as the images provide a direct visual record of the final moments of those executed.
In 1987, then German President Richard von Weizsaecker visited Greece and made a special stop in Kaisariani, reflecting on the profound suffering inflicted on the Greek people by Germany during World War II.
Ilias said that, like Germany, Japan, another Axis power during the war, should also be held accountable for the massive harm it caused to multiple countries and should offer sincere reflection and apology for its wartime aggression.
"And I think it's a common demand, because those responsible for the deaths in the World War II need to pay for what happened. It's known to all that back then it was Germany, Japan and Italy, the allies in this war, that each played different roles in the war, yet they do have common responsibilities," said the mayor.
Historic photos of Nazi mass execution of Greeks returned to Greece, mayor calls for historical accountability
