It's the 5th day of the 5th lunar month today. And that means it's Duanwu Jie -- also known as the Dragon Boat Festival. To learn more about the traditional customs for this big day, our reporter Ding Siyue visited the Beijing Folk Museum, which is teaching young ones a lesson or two.

Dozens of elementary students are taking part in this year's Duanwu Festival celebration at the Dongyue Temple. The almost 700-year-old protected cultural site is also the site of Beijing Folk Museum. For the past 20 years, it has been holding educational activities on this very day for the public.

WANG LUPING BEIJING FOLK MUSEUM "We have prepared many activities to give people a sense of what Duanwu Festival is like in the past. We hope they can learn more about the festival by attending our activities. It is important to inherit and carry forward our traditional culture."

DING SIYUE BEIJING "Zongzi is an important symbol of Duanwu Festival. Here, the museum provides all the materials needed to make a Zongzi, and give the kids a chance to experience it."

This pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice is wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. The flavor varies a lot depending on the stuffing. For many of them, it is their first time making zongzi. The students also experienced many other activities. They are given a red dot on their forehead and have mugwort and calamus water sprinkled over their bodies. Another activity has them making a bracelet made out of fragment herbal medicine balls. All of these are meant to dispel disease and drive out evil, which is the main purpose of the festival in ancient times.

STUDENT "I tried many things today and I like these activities."

LI WEIDAN TEACHER, BAIJIAZHUANG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL "They learnt about Duanwu Festival in their textbooks, and now they have the opportunity to experience all the traditional customs. I hope they can have a deeper understanding of Duanwu Festival and fall in love with traditional Chinese culture."

Every step of this learning experience simulates how ancient people celebrated the day, as Duanwu Festival has been an important day throughout Chinese history.

DING SIYUE BEIJING "Duanwu is considered to be one of the country's four major traditional festivals, alongside Spring Festival, Qingming Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival. For thousands of years, the tradition has been pass down from one generation to the next. DSY, CGTN, BJ."