Dragon Boat Festival Specialties | A Gift Box Holding Shaoxing’s Spring and Winter

Shaoxing Wine · Dongqu

July 11, 2026 | 14:30 | Shanghai

Mild plum rain drifts, soft dawn breezes linger. Deep down the alleyways of Jiangnan, the sweet aroma of reed-wrapped rice dumplings drifts over old stone walls.

This festival stretching back over two millennia always evokes a line from Records of Local Customs written during the Western Jin Dynasty:In the midsummer Dragon Boat Festival, cook ducks and rice dumplings. As time marches on, we still abide by the rhythms of the seasons, seeking gentle leisure amid the shifting solar terms.

In ancient times, Dragon Boat Festival was all about sharing. Rice tossed into the river was an offering to revered ancestors; exchanging rice dumplings with neighbors was a gesture for loved ones; dragon boat visits forged bonds between villages. This age-old unbroken connection aligns perfectly with Dongqu’s core philosophy:Share more, enjoy more.

The character “Yue” stands for ancient Yue, the birthplace of this wine; “sharing” forms the soul of the festival. This Dragon Boat Festival, Dongqu presents an exclusive gift box — encapsulating gifts from mountain springs in spring, aged wine cellared through winters, and heartfelt handwritten notes, ready to be passed to those you hold dear.

Few know that the original romance of Dragon Boat Festival was never solitary remembrance, but collective solidarity.

Wu Jun of the Southern Liang Dynasty wrote inContinued Tales of the Marvelous: “On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River. Grieving villagers filled bamboo tubes with rice and tossed them into the water to honor him.”

Fearing fish and shrimp would harm Qu Yuan’s body, townsfolk voluntarily offered rice to the river — an act of collective gratitude shared with a revered sage.

Later, this spirit of sharing spread from riverbanks to neighborhoods. Across much of Jiangnan, once rice dumplings finish steaming, families first exchange them with neighbors: you bring red bean dumplings, I offer pork ones. Children wander the streets with small bowls, tasting treats from every household.

Elders call this “eating food from a hundred homes”, a blessing said to grant children health all year round.

As time went by, this bond stretched across villages. The centuries-old dragon boat “visiting relatives” tradition in Guangfo region, with its heartwarming tales of fatherson boat crews, turned Dragon Boat Festival into an emotional thread weaving communities together.

Sharing is never onesided giving; it is a mutual connection. You send forth your sincerity, and warmth returns to you. Back and forth, affection deepens with every exchange.

Crafted exclusively for this Dragon Boat Festival, Dongqu’s gift box may be compact, yet it holds the full seasonal rhythm of Shaoxing.

Inside lies a pack of dried bamboo shoot and preserved vegetable treats, sourced from Huihuang Village at the foot of Zhuge Mountain, a branch of Kuaiji Mountain Range — a place close to the hometown of Ji Kang, hidden amid endless seas of green bamboo.

The period between Pure Brightness and Grain Rain marks the prime season for digging and sun-drying bamboo shoots. Spring bamboo shoots grow at astonishing speed; a single spring rain can send them shooting inches higher overnight. Villagers climb steep hills every day, hoeing soil in a race against fleeting springtime — for bamboo shoots wait for no one, nor does spring.

Freshly dug shoots are sliced, steamed, mixed with snow vegetables, then repeatedly sun-dried under spring sunlight. Ten catties of raw bamboo shoots yield merely one catty of preserved dried shoots. The fleeting fresh sweetness of spring is sealed within every curled slice.

Whenever you crave its flavor, soak a handful in water — and suddenly the mountains, wind and sunlight of that spring day return to your palate, a taste to savor all year long.

Dongqu wine carries the same philosophy: brewed in winter, yet enjoyable all year round. We capture the bitter cold of winter, the craftsmanship of hand-making, and years of ceramic jar aging inside each bottle. Every pour is a reunion with winter’s quiet charm.

The box features two 300ml bottles of Dongqu 2015 Prestige Edition Wine.

Its volume is perfectly balanced: ideal for quiet solo sipping or intimate toasts with close friends, easy to finish over one or two meals without worrying about spoiled flavor after opening.

A rare singlevintage brew: the winter of 2015 brought an unprecedented cold wave to Shaoxing, whose extreme frost forged an exceptionally pure wine body. After years of maturation in clay jars, the liquor develops a mellow, layered profile.

Its flavor shines through unadulterated purity: opening the bottle releases caramel and plum notes intertwined with delicate floral aromas. The sip is smooth and bright, finishing with steady sandalwood and a lingering aftertaste — a true badge forged by winter’s harshness.

The box also includes two handcrafted Jingdezhen “Azure Glow” tasting goblets. Smooth and warm to the touch, they beautifully showcase the wine’s natural amber luster.

Softest of all the details: a custom Dragon Boat Festival greeting card comes with every box. Leave your heartfelt message in your order notes, and Dongqu’s team will handwrite it stroke by stroke, sealing your warmth and sincerity inside the package.

As we copied her words by hand, we could almost picture the smile spreading across her father’s face upon receiving the box.

This 300ml small wine bottle is far more than a limited Dragon Boat Festival item

It can be your relaxing nightcap after overtime work; a casual bottle to crack open for weekend gatherings with friends; a ca

mpanion for spring picnics, autumn balcony chats, or winter fireside evenings. It stands ready whenever you crave a moment of calm.

A regular customer named Mr. C lives far north of the Yangtze River. For him, Dongqu encapsulates the taste of his southern hometown.

“Dongqu holds the winters, snow, mist and sunlight of Jiangnan all in one bottle.”

He’s introduced the wine to his northern friends, who have all grown fond of its unique charm. “They weren’t born in Jiangnan, yet this wine lets them imagine its beauty.”

Sharing wine means sharing a piece of your hometown.

Another customer, Ms. Z, took her family on a spring outing two years ago. They spread a mat on park grass to picnic, basking in sunshine and chatting. Before leaving, she grabbed a bottle of rice wine and a bag of peanuts. The whole family drank gently amid spring breezes, spending a blissful afternoon together.

When she spoke of Dongqu, she insisted on sharing this memory.That quiet afternoon of mild intoxication has stayed with her for two years.

It echoes the idyllic life described in the Analectsover two thousand years ago:

The more you share, the richer the joy. No festival or excuse needed — the moment you wish to share something precious is the perfect time.

May Dongqu’s Dragon Boat Festival Gift Box be your most sincere messenger of affection.

• 2 bottles of Dongqu 2015 Prestige Edition Wine (300ml each)

• 2 handcrafted Jingdezhen “Azure Glow” tasting goblets

• 1 pack of hand-made Shaoxing dried bamboo shoot & preserved vegetable treats

• Custom Dragon Boat Festival greeting card (complimentary handwritten message service available)

May this gift, bearing spring harvests from ancient Yue’s mountains and winteraged wine, accompany you and your beloved ones through every season, with joy year after year.