More than 2,000 Shanghai middle school students gathered at a suburban water town yesterday for the annual festival commemorating the ancient poet-patriot Qu Yuan and the dragon boat tradition his death inspired. 　　

Dressed in old-style Chinese gowns and waving banners, the students carefully followed the protocol recorded in China's history books. They burned incense, toasted with wine, ate zongzi -- sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves -- and recited poems and bowed in front of a statue of Qu. 　　

The gathering, in Minhang District's Qibao Town, attracted students from more than 100 schools. 　　

They watched the performances, competed in zongzi wrapping contests, solved riddles and raced dragon boats during the half-day event. 　

"The process helped students learn more about our traditional cultural festival, which is gradually losing popularity among young people," said Lu Jichun, headmaster of the No. 1 High School affiliated with East China Normal University. 　

The central subject of the festival Qu was a famous poet and well-liked official of the Chu Kingdom who drowned himself in the Miluo River in today's Hunan Province after the king refused to follow his advice on important military matters. 　　

People saddened by Qu's death tossed zongzi into the river and patrolled in boats shaped like powerful dragons in hopes of scaring the fish away from Qu's body. 　　

In today's China, many youngsters are more familiar with Western festivals such as Christmas and Valentine's Day than with history behind the Dragon Boat Festival. 　　

"I heard about Qu Yuan and know that we should eat zongzi during the festival. But I don't know how the two are connected," said Ge Jiaqi, a 16-year-old Qibao Middle School student. 　　

The apparent lack of knowledge has concerned some historians. 　　

Last year, South Korea applied to the United Nations to list its version of the Dragon Boat Festival as an intangible cultural heritage. 　　

"The application by a foreign country was an alert for all Chinese people," said Yao Quanying, an official with the non-profit group that organized the Qibao event. "We have the responsibility to pass on our folk tradition and protect our festivals."

(Shanghai Daily June 2, 2006)