Chinese food company Wufangzhai in east China's Zhejiang Province is collaborating with Walt Disney Co. to produce snacks branded with Disney cartoon characters for Dragon Boat Festival.

The festival, also known as Duanwu Festival, is traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It falls on June 9 this year. And Zongzi (a pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in reed leaves) is traditionally eaten during the festival to remember ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan (340-278 BC).

Wufangzhai is a famous producer of Zongzi and other rice products. To mark this year's festival, the company will release specially-designed products featuring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Iron Man on the packaging.

"I bought a box of cartoon-branded Zongzi this year. I'm sure my granddaughter will love it," said one grandmother, who was shopping at a store in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province.

Customers said the campaign is a good way to help the younger generation understand the festival.

Xu Wei, brand director of Wufangzhai, said both Wufangzhai and Disney are time-honored brands. The cooperation is a combination of tradition and innovation.

(Xinhua News Agency June 7, 2016)