Asia’s worldclass city Hong Kong was in the grips of major event – the International Dragon Boat Festival. An ancient tradition that’s now reached a global proportion, and is a major tourist attraction during the month of July. Conducted by the Hong Kong Toursim Board, the International Dragon Boat Festival this year had over 6,000 of the world’s best Dragon boats and athletes converging at Hong Kong for the famous International Dragon Boat Race. 3,000 athletes from 12 countries participated in the boat carnival to the beat of drums and the roar of the crowds; battling it out in the waters of Victoria Harbour with the stunning city skyline in the backdrop.
This ancient event is also known as Tuen Ng Festival. It is celebrated to memorialize the death of a popular Chinese national hero Qu Yuan who drowned himself in the Mi Lo River over 2,000 years ago to protest against the corrupt rulers. Legend has it that as the town’s people attempted to rescue Qu Yuan; they beat drums to scare fish away and threw dumplings into the sea to keep the fish from eating his body. Today, festival activities recall this legendary event. People eat rice-and-meat dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves; and many look forward to swimming or even simply dipping their hands in the water.
What to look out for during the boat carnival
The real highlight of the International Dragon Boat Festival is the fierce-looking Dragon Boats racing in a lively, vibrant spectacle. Teams race the elaborately decorated dragon boats to the beat of heavy drums. The special boats which measure more than 10 meters have been ornately carved and painted ‘dragon’ head and tail, and each carries a crew of 20-22 paddlers. This year, all races in the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Race were standard boat races of over 500m.
What it shares in common with the snake boats of India
The boat races in India is a sport unique to the state of Kerala. Called vallamkalis, It’s an annual event that usually takes place in the month of August or September in the backwaters of Allapuzzha, often coinciding with the state’s national harvest festival Onam. Unlike the boat races in Hong Kong, it does not have a figurehead of a dragon, but is still referred to as snake boats derived from the serpentine length and movement of the vessal. It is commonly referred to as Chundanvallams. The 100–120 foot long canoes are made of a wood locally called Aanjili thadi, and carries 90- 110 rowers. The vigorous and brilliant performances of the rowers impressed India’s first Prime Minister, the late Jawaharlal Nehru in 1952 that he introduced the sporting event as a regular feature and awarded the winners with the Nehru Trophy.
