Finally the Emperor dismissed Chiu Yuan of all his court duties. The strong Kingdom of Chin grasped this opportunity to invade the Kingdom of Chu which suffered repeated blows of defeats. When Chiu Yuan learnt that the Kingdom of Chu was on the verge of collapse, he was strucken by grief, and on lunar May 5th, he tied a piece of rock to himself and jumped into the Mi Luo River. When nearby villagers heard the news, they went on their boats to rescue him. The villagers also threw rice dumplings wrapped in lotus leaf into the river to feed the fish and prawns so that they would not attack Chiu Yuan's body. That's the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival and the eating of rice dumplings.

    Today, the boat race during the Dragon Boat Festival is a popular sport to train both body and team spirit. It used to be conducted with pomp and ceremony. Prior to the race, a high ranking local government official would be invited to dot the ¡§eyes¡¨ of the dragon boats to spark off the event. Then the boats would be carried in the midst of cheers, drums, fire crackers and incense to the shore.

    The rice dumplings have undergone tremendous evolution over the ages. There are numerous recipes to make this delicacy. They can vary from bite size to as heavy as two catties each and can be sweet, salty, smoked or vegetarian. Whichever recipe you follow, you will surely be greeted with a mouth watering fragrance as the rice dumplings are being steamed. Take a quick look at our website, select your favourite rice dumpling recipe and put that into action!