The traditional Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, is just two weeks away. It's meant to commemorate the life of Chinese poet and minister Qu Yuan. And a dance drama staged at the Meilanfang Theatre in Beijing did just that -- aptly performed by artists from Zuigui county in Hubei province, the hometown of Qu Yuan.

The four-part dance drama revolves around the customs and traditions surrounding Duanwu Festival, such as the dragon boat race, memorials for Qu Yuan and stories about zongzi, a traditional food item eaten during this time.

Local musical elements also appeared on stage, like the Haocao gong and drum, Flower Drum Opera and Qi Opera's Gaoqiang.

Director Mei Changsheng hopes the show will bring some long-lost Duanwu customs back to modern memory.

MEI CHANGSHENG DIRECTOR, DA DUANWU "I hope the dance drama can help audiences around the country understand the meaning of the Dragon Boat Festival. The festival is more than just memorials for the great poet Qu Yuan. It's also about love and passion for our homeland as well as the people living in it."

The Duanwu Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month.

Today, dragon-boat races are a common activity during the festival. The regatta commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a devoted minister, in the year 278 BC. Qu Yuan is said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river. And popular legend has it that villagers rowed their boats in the middle of the river, beat drums to distract the fish from his body and threw in zongzi as an offering to his spirit. SW, CGTN.