Sports-minded Doumen District is welcoming some 1,300 rowers in 44 teams to compete during the 2018 Zhuhai Doumen Dragon Boat Cultural Festival, which begins Saturday, June 2 at 10 am on the Huangyang River in Jing'an Town's Xidi Park.

Twenty-three local-regional teams are eager to prove their worth in several classes: Zhuhai elementary pupils; Zhuhai residents; and challengers from especially Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan, Hong Kong, and Macao in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

"We have been training for nearly a month and hope to have a good ranking," said Liang Zhanqiang, 52, helmsman of the Dragon Boat Team in Baijiao Town.

Rehearsal on May 30

The race witnessed 1,500 contestants and 88,000 spectators last year. Accompanying it are a photography competition, picture exhibition, and cultural and sports performances.

In recent years, Doumen has hosted the dragon boat race in celebration of Duanwu Jie, which falls on June 18 this year. Races, however, are held well before, on, and after the holiday.

As the race begins, so does the Doumen Civil Sports Festival. The district's passion for sports and fitness will be sated with 12 events including hiking, cycling, badminton, table tennis, tug-of-war, dragon-lion dance tournament, basketball, and futsal competitions.

Dragon heads

Spectators line Xidi Road [Photos by Zeng Yao / Zhuhai Daily]