Memories of the solar terms in the sea breeze - Walking on Lieyu Island during the Dragon Boat Festival

#Dragon Boat Festival Good Places The Dragon Boat Festival has always been closely connected with rivers. Dragon boats break through the waves, and the fragrance of zongzi fills the air. The solar term contains a strong sense of tradition and local sentiment. However, if this festival sentiment is placed on the westernmost tip of Taiwan, where battlefield memories and the sea and sky are intertwined, it will be a completely different interpretation. Lieyu, also known as Little Kinmen, is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and the wind, sand and waves brush this small island day and night. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the sea breeze still brings a hint of spring coolness, the sun is not strong, and the climate is pleasant. Walking on Huangcuo Beach, away from human voices, there is only the sound of waves hitting the shore and the fine sand under your feet, as if time is stretched by the sea breeze on this land, and the years are quietly spread out. Huangcuo Beach and its surrounding military relics such as the Maogongshi Coast and the Warrior Fort Artillery Position are dependent on each other, forming Lieyu's unique "battlefield sea view". Spending the Dragon Boat Festival here is less lively than in the city, but more peaceful and beautiful with history and nature interwoven. You can find a shell of a strange shape on the gravel pile, or lean against the outer wall of the old fort to look out at the sea and sky - Xiamen on the other side is looming, and the war clouds of the past seem like yesterday. The residents of Lieyu still retain the custom of hanging calamus and inserting mugwort during the Dragon Boat Festival. If you are lucky, you may see fresh grass bundles inserted on the lintels of old houses in the Huangcuo settlement. The rich fragrance is an ancient dialogue between the solar terms and the land. Some locals will also prepare five-grain rice dumplings, red tortoise cakes or "rice dumplings" as the protagonists of ancestor worship and festival celebrations. You can buy them occasionally at street stalls. Take a bite and you will taste the local customs of the island. The sea breeze caresses and the sun shines obliquely. The Dragon Boat Festival in Lieyu is not a festival of shouting and running, but a quiet island ritual. Walking on the beach, let your footprints sink deep into the sand, and let your heart settle in the sound of the waves. There are no dragon boats here, but there is sea and wind; there are no grand celebrations, but there is time and space to give you a real "Dragon Boat Festival holiday".