Dragon boating shows Guangdong's dynamic, enthusiastic spirit

Traditional activity resonates down millenniums and spark goes on across country and beyond borders

The 2024 Guangzhou International Dragon Boat Invitational Tournament was held on the Pearl River in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province on Sunday.

As one of the best dragon boat competitions in the world, this year's tournament attracted 111 teams and involved nearly 4,000 competitors. They included 16 international teams from countries including the United States, Canada, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and one of the team was represented by the foreign chambers of commerce in Guangzhou. Also, teams from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, as well as six neighboring cities including Foshan, Huizhou and Dongguan took part in the annual event.

The Datang Wujia dragon boat team from Guangzhou's Haizhu district won gold in the men's open category. The team was established in 1979 and has won several titles over the years. In 2023, it won the championship in the same category.

Altynbek Smailkhan, captain of Kazakhstan Knights Dragon Boat Team, said: "Because I love dragon boat racing so much, I chose to come to China and live in Guangdong. The province boasts excellent conditions for this sports event and I can learn a lot here. There are also many competitions, you could say that Guangdong is the best place for dragon boat racing."

David Butler, captain of Guangzhou International Dragon Boat Team, said: "This is a great window into local Guangzhou culture, or Cantonese culture. This is a great way to connect with the local community. I love the spirit of dragon boating, a positive, dynamic and enthusiastic spirit."

The Guangzhou International Dragon Boat Invitational Tournament is one of the most anticipated events of this year's dragon boat season in Guangdong. The activity, running more than a month, kicked off on May 18 in Dongguan, marking the start of dragon boat races held across the province.

A traditional custom of the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, dragon boat racing is also an intangible cultural heritage item in Guangdong and embodies the region's Lingnan culture. Today, it not only serves as a classic festival activity but a symbol of the spirit of unity, perseverance and struggle for excellence.

Another event of the dragon boat season was a dragon boat drift racing competition held on June 8 in Diejiao village, Nanhai district, Foshan city.

Unlike traditional races on wide rivers, this competition takes place on narrow and winding waterways. Each 25-meter-long dragon boat carries 30 to 40 competitors and they paddle the boat to drift through bends, under bridges and make sharp turns.

The competition attracted more than 150 athletes to challenge the 10-kilometer course, which includes a variety of bends.

Statistics show that Guangdong has been hosting 127 dragon boat events around this year's festival and the oldest dragon boat involved is 592 years old.

Race teams include a women's team with an average age of 50+, young teams mainly composed of the post-2000 generation and international teams formed by foreigners living, working and studying in Guangdong.

Li Kaifan, an inheritor of the dragon boat racing intangible cultural heritage item in Guangzhou's Liwan district, believes that dragon boat racing conveys the spirit of progress and unity among participants, and maintains friendship between neighbors.

In recent years, Li has introduced dragon boat culture into schools and residential communities, and briefed the public about related sports and customs.

Chen Yonglue, a member of a dragon boat association in Foshan's Shunde district, said: "Dragon boat rowing can increase cohesion of the people, because everyone is on the same boat."

The 30-year-old supports the promotion of dragon boat culture and welcomes people from other regions and countries to watch related activities.

Wei Wei, the executive deputy secretary-general of the Guangdong Dragon Boat Association, said Guangdong is the only province in China that can host traditional dragon boat races throughout the year.

"Thanks to its climate and water systems, Guangdong has strong public support and the most comprehensive dragon boat club system in the country, with diverse competition formats," Wei said.

During this year's dragon boat season, cities in Guangdong have integrated folk customs, cuisine and finance to host dragon boat cultural tourism festivals. They are aimed at promoting folk culture and transforming this into economic benefits.

Experts suggest that Guangdong should develop experiential, interactive and immersive consumption scenarios to create a more complete industry chain of the "dragon boat economy" in a bid to give traditional customs new significance and boost urban economic development.

haonan@chinadaily.com.cn