The Loong Boat Festival is one of the four traditional festivals in China. It is the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is a folk festival that integrates worship of gods and ancestors, praying for blessings and exorcism, celebrating entertainment and eating. There are more than 20 nicknames, such as the Dragon Boat Festival, Loong Boat Festival, Chongwu Festival, Chongwu Festival and Tianzhong Festival. It is a traditional festival of Han, Shui, Naxi, Tibetan, Yi, Dai, Gelao ethnic group, Pumi and other ethnic groups.

As a festival, Loong Boat Festival was formed in the Han Dynasty. There is a record in the "Customs and General Principles" by Ying Shao of the Eastern Han Dynasty that on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, people should guard against military service ghosts and prevent diseases and epidemics.  The origin of the Loong Boat Festival has varied from ancient times to the present. The main arguments are: the theory of commemorating Qu Yuan, the theory of welcoming the Tao God (Wu Zixu became the Tao God after his unjust death), the theory of evil days, the theory of dragon festivals (that is, the theory of sacrificing the dragon totem), and the theory of the summer solstice. The origin of the Loong Boat Festival covers the ancient astrological culture, humanistic philosophy and other aspects, and contains profound and rich cultural connotation. In the process of inheritance and development, it blends a variety of folk customs. Due to different regional cultures, there are differences in the content or details of customs.

In May 2006, the State Council included the Loong Boat Festival in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage lists. Since 2008, Loong Boat Festival has been listed as a national legal holiday. In September 2009, UNESCO officially approved its inclusion in the List of Representative Works of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Loong Boat Festival became the first festival in China to be included in the World Intangible Cultural Heritage.