You may have seen cars drifting, but what about a drifting dragon boat? On June 22, this year's Dragon Boat Festival, an action-packed dragon boat drifting race, will kick off in Diejiao, a town in Nanhai District of Foshan.
The dragon boat drifting race in Diejiao has a history of over 500 years and is held every year around the Dragon Boat Festival. Due to the narrow and winding streams and rivers, there are several types of racing tracks, including S-shaped, C-shaped, L-shaped, and straight ones, and the boat's crew needs to make some sudden turns during the race.
(Photo provided to GDToday)
This year's dragon boat drifting race will take place at Dongsheng Village and Tantou Village in Diebei Community, as well as Shengtang Village and Chaji Village in Dienan Community. The dragon boat teams are gearing up for the race at full speed. "As the race approaches, we need to keep training," said Yang Rongzhan, a Shengtangxu Dragon Boat Team member in Aobian Village. "We must have standard posture and enough strength in paddling, and match the beat of drums."
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Li Youquan, a paddler joining the Tongletang Dragon Boat Team in Liangxi Village in 2015, said they started training in mid to late April. "We practised physical fitness, movements, and postures."
You Qiji, born in the 2000s, is also a member of this dragon boat team, and he just had his first dragon boat rowing experience in March. "I practised until mid-April, then I returned to our village for further intensive training to match the movements and speed of our team," he said. "I love dragon boat rowing, so I came back here to continue training."
With more local youngsters getting involved in recent years, this traditional sport has been injected with new vigour. "I started training in 2019 and joined the youth training team of Juxiantang." Lyv Manchao, a 19-year-old Juxiantang Dragon Boat Team member in Dongsheng Village, has participated in the dragon boat drifting race for the second year.
Both Lyv's grandfather and uncle joined the dragon boat team, and he has been watching dragon boat training on the shore from the age of five or six. "Being nurtured by such a vibe since childhood, we are eager to participate in the races and help our village win a better place."
(Photo provided to GDToday)
Juxiantang Dragon Boat Team now has about 20 young people in their teens, and it set up two youth training teams to ensure the constant inheritance of the dragon boat drifting race. "After over 30 years in the team, I am especially optimistic about this year's performance, because I have trained a group of young talent," said Mai Zongnan, drummer of the Team.
Reporter | Holly
Video editor | Tianxiong Zhang
Editor | Olivia, Nan, Monica, James
Video footage provided by Foshan News and Media Center
