Dragon Boat Festival Marked Across China With Traditional Boat Races
Indian Express
The Dragon Boat Festival was celebrated Friday across mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan with colorful boat races, lion dances and other festivities ( by AP) The more than 2,000-year-old festival is best known for its sporting events, but its origins are roo
ted in Chinese history and ancient beliefs about health, protection and harmony with nature ( by AP)
The festival is widely associated with the ancient poet Qu Yuan, who according to legend drowned himself more than 2,000 years ago ( by AP)
The tradition of dragon boat races was born from the story that people raced out in boats to search for the poet and threw rice into the river so fish would not eat his body ( by AP)
A three-day race in Beijing features men’s, women’s and mixed dragon boat races over distances of 100, 200 and 500 meters ( by AP)
Teams from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Guangdong compete throughout the holiday weekend ( by AP)
Guided by the thunderous beat of their drummers, crews pulled their paddles through the water in unison, each boat surging toward the finish line as spectators cheered them on ( by AP)
Beijing’s 2026 celebrations will continue through June 21 at the capital’s Grand Canal ( by AP)
Participants in Hong Kong’s dragon boat races on Friday wore costumes including a cartoon version of Chinese Taoist deity Ne Zha ( by AP)