Traditional customs mark Dragon Boat Festival

A child with scented sachets in Bozhou city, East Chin's Anhui province, May 11, 2014. [Photo by Liu Qinli/asianewsphoto]

5. Wearing scented sachets and five-color silk thread

In the north, people believe that wearing scented sachets protects children from evil. The young decorate their clothes with small pouches made from colorful silk cloth with five-color silk thread.

Another custom is to tie thread around a child's wrists, ankles and neck. Five-color thread holds special significance in China in that it is thought to contain magical and healing properties. Children are not permitted to speak while parents tie the thread for them, neither are they allowed to remove it until after the first summer rainfall when they throw the thread into the river. This is thought to protect them from plague and disease.