On the fifth day of the fifth Lunar month, normally in May or June, throngs of participants and spectators flock to Hong Kong’s waterways for the Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon boat races take place in about 10 sites around Hong Kong, including the Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships at the town Stanley.
Stanley holds a local competition between about 200 local and international teams that attracts about 30,000 onlookers. The Tai O Dragon Boat Festival includes a water parade, while the fishing village of Aberdeen also hosts races.
A dragon boat is a human-powered wooden watercraft shaped and decorated in the form of a Chinese dragon. Dragon boats vary in size by region, and the crew numbers change accordingly, usually requiring between 20 and 60 people to paddle it.
During the race, each team has a drummer at the head of the boat who sets the pace for the entire team of paddlers as they attempt to synchronize their efforts.
Dragon boat racing is based on a legend of the ancient patriot-poet Qu Yuan (340–278 B.C.) He was a court minister who advocated reforms for his home state of Chu. The King of Chu, however, disliked him for it and banished him from the state. In exile, he mostly wrote poetry expressing his concerns for his homeland. In 278 B.C., when Qu Yuan heard his home had been invaded, he jumped into the Ni Lo River and drowned himself. Legend has it that local fishermen raced out to the river to save him but to no avail. To prevent his body from being eaten by fish, they threw rice dumplings into the water as an offering to his spirit.
Today, rice dumplings are eaten on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival. After the races, it is customary to spend the remainder of the day observing street theater, traditional Chinese dance performances, martial arts and other cultural demonstrations.
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