China's film production bases turned into venues for events marking Dragon Boat Festival

China's film and television program production bases virtually turned themselves into venues for celebratory events marking the Dragon Boat Festival, with boat racing, traditional snacks offering and other festive activities during the three-day holiday from May 31 to June 2.

The annual festival on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar Chinese calendar fell on Saturday this year. It is a time to get rid of misfortune as venomous animals were believed to appear at this juncture. It is also a time to commemorate the beloved Chinese poet Qu Yuan (339-278 BC) from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).

On the day people will have dragon boat contests, eat zongzi (glutinous rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves) and drink realgar wine.

The Hengdian World Studios, a film and TV theme park in Hengdian City of east China's Zhejiang Province, held a Dragon Boat race on Sunday, with the drumbeat echoing in the waters. Many film and teleplay crews participated in this competition.

"We usually enter this place, which is kind of scenic area, to shoot as a production crew. However, today we can participate as a team in the dragon boat race here. This makes us feel very different. Compared to our usual work, there is a much more relaxed holiday atmosphere," said Hu Shuotian, executive producer of China television drama Blossoms of Power.

At the same time, the theme park attracted thousands of tourists to enjoy the folklore displays in diverse forms and specialty food.

Other cultural activities like Xiangbao (sachet) crafting and lacquered fan making were also held at the theme park.

Also during the holiday, the Xiangshan Global Studios in Ningbo City of Zhejiang launched various dragon boat-themed festive activities, igniting vitality of the holiday consumption market.

Meanwhile, another film and television program production base named "the City of Tang Dynasty (618-907)" in Xiangyang City of central China's Hubei Province also launched many themed events to celebrate the festival, featuring a wide range of immersive activities, attracting many residents and tourists.

"I've particularly come here to have a visit. It is quite impressive to hear the music and see the architecture here," said a tourist.

China's film production bases turned into venues for events marking Dragon Boat Festival

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight