Dragon Boat Festival roars to life
Print Edition
A new dimension was added to this year’s dragon boat race along Suzhou Creek. Usually just for semi-professional teams that train hard for the race, this year’s event had a “mini dragon boat” race for families over a distance of 200 meters. The boats each held five people, including a helmsman and drummer.
“Introducing family races was a first in the country,” said Jiang Ying, director of the Putuo Sports Bureau.
The race attracted many people. Friends, neighbors and family members formed teams and spent a month training for the competition. The winner was Fang Lei’s family from Yichuan community.
More than 700 people from 46 teams took part in two other events — the “Hai Tian Construction Cup” China Dragon Boat Open 2014 (Putuo, Shanghai) and the 11th Shanghai International Suzhou Creek Dragon Boat Invitational Tournament.
Both of these events were broadcast live by STV for the first time.
Dragon boat racing is the highlight of the Duan Wu Festival, or “Double Fifth” Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. This year it fell on June 2, although the Dragon Boat races were held on May 31.
For many Shanghainese, watching dragon boat races along Suzhou Creek has been a tradition for more than a decade. The bright decorations, spectacular boats, shouting and drumming, as well as the loud roars from the crowd make for an enjoyable outing.
Teams competed on the section of the creek near the Brilliant City community. This year had participants from China, Russia, Bulgaria, France, Canada, Norway and the United States.
Gaishanpuxia Dragon Boat Club was the winner of both the 200m and 500m events at the China open in Putuo branch.
In the invitational races, team Storm from Russia won both the 200m and 500m events.
The participants come from all walks of life, including professionals, office workers, teachers and students. Participation builds a strong sense of community and the races are now a brand that combines sports and cultural exchanges. This year’s dragon boat festival also included a garden party at Mengqing Park where people could learn how to make zongzi and sachets,” Jiang said.
As a calling card for Putuo, the dragon boat race is rooted in traditional cultural heritage. Yet it also combines modern themes in urban development, showing how quickly Shanghai is developing.
A photography exhibition “Hanging in the Tree” was held a day before the race. It was built around the them of fragments of time in the urban jungle.
Also on May 31, nine neighborhood communities and towns in Putuo set up booths to introduce more people to folk sports and culture.
About the festival
The Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duan Wu or Double Fifth, is known for dragon boat racing and eating zongzi, a glutinous rice snack stuffed with sweets or meat and wrapped in bamboo leaves.
Since the festival always takes place as summer approaches, people in ancient times hung aromatic herbs with spiky leaves around the house to ward off pests and insects. Some would even wear the herbs in small pouches around their neck. The decorated sachets are commonly sold in pharmacies today.
The most popular dragon boat legend is the one that commemorates the death of statesman and famous poet Qu Yuan, who lived during the Warring States Period (476-221 BC). Qu served as a court official under King Huai of Chu State (328-299 BC). He was accused of treason and banished for opposing the alliance with the increasingly powerful state of Qin.
He was banished to the region south of the Yangtze River and for many years he wandered and wrote some of his greatest poetry, especially poems in “Chu Ci” (“Verses of Chu”) anthology. His famous works include “Li Sao” (“Departing in Sorrow”) and “Jiu Ge” (“Nine Songs”). When he learned the kingdom had been conquered by the state of Qin, as he had warned, he threw himself into the Miluo River in today’s Hunan Province.
Because he was beloved by ordinary people, they rushed out in boats to rescue him. They were too late, but in order to retrieve his body they threw rice into the water to prevent the fish from eating the poet’s corpse.
The Dragon Boat Festival today commemorates the attempts to rescue Qu. The boats are gaily decorated with dragon heads and tales. A drummer is in charge and keeps time for the rowers. Q&A
Wang Donglin was a volunteer at this year’s dragon boat race. The 24-year-old works at Putuo District Central Hospital. His job as a volunteer was to check tickets and maintain order around the entrance. This was his first time working as a volunteer for the race.
Q: Why did you want to join the dragon boat race as a volunteer?
A: The Suzhou Creek dragon boat race has been hosted for 11 years. As a Putuo resident I felt I should contribute and as a Chinese I’m very interested in the traditional programs of the Dragon Boat Festival.
Q: What was the most interesting part of this year’s dragon boat race?
A: I’m very interested in the five-people family dragon boat race. Maybe I’ll sign up for the competition next year.
Q: What sports do you like to play in your free time?
A: I like swimming and I usually plan three hours at the gym every week.
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