TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Around the Chinese language diaspora, racing in dragon boats has been a practice achieving again hundreds of years.
However exchange is afoot, maximum lately in central Taiwan the place the races had been switched to the night time to profit from cooler temperatures, a refreshing breeze and the sight of the boats lit up with LED lighting fixtures operating the period of the low-lying watercraft.
A drummer kilos out a rhythm at the back of the elaborately carved dragon head within the bow, whilst a navigator sits within the stern, the place a tail rises to finish the glance of the legendary animal, a standard Chinese language harbinger of prosperity and excellent success.
It’s principally an newbie game and crews are shaped amongst teams of neighbors and associates. Emily Lin, 31, who works as a gross sales government in Changhua county, mentioned coaching classes at a neighborhood junior highschool had been a very good approach to toughen friendships out of doors of labor.
“This dragon boat race lets in us to fulfill, trade and participate in one thing,” Lin mentioned Monday following qualifiers the former night time.
Daylight racing approach coping with the serious central Taiwan solar reflecting off the river, leaving you feeling ill, mentioned Chen Ta-tzung, a 28-year-old equipment upkeep specialist.
“However within the night time, you don’t have the solar,” Chen mentioned.
“Once we center of attention on rowing all through the race, we can’t benefit from the gorgeous scene. But if we row again, we will in point of fact benefit from the gorgeous points of interest,” he added.
This yr’s races hang a distinct which means for plenty of members and observers as they’re the primary after a three-year damage as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The sizes of the boats range and the numbers of rowers can vary from 10 to twenty or extra. The competition normally falls originally of June primarily based across the summer season solstice in keeping with the Chinese language lunar calendar.
In fresh a long time, the game has unfold in reputation all over the world and requirements had been imposed on laws and kit, together with the scale of paddles and necessities that the drummer, enjoying a an identical position to the coxswain in faculty and Olympic rowing, maintains a continuing beat.
“Racing at night time is particular for rowers,” mentioned Huang Yi-kai, 21, who’s a trainer for standup paddleboard rowers. “This allowed rowers to concentrate on the instant. It’s a refreshing revel in.”
Dragon boat races also are being held in Hong Kong and Macao, in addition to round mainland China, the place lax protection requirements have from time to time resulted in fatal injuries. A minimum of one particular person was once killed after a dragon boat capsized within the southwestern Chinese language town of Chongqing on Sunday, the native executive reported.
At a contest on a canal within the east of Beijing on Monday, player Shi Shulei cheered the development as a party of conventional Chinese language tradition, devoid of industrial or international influences.
“These days other folks have a good time many gala’s invented by way of traders or by way of different international locations. We once in a while overlook about Chinese language conventional gala’s. This match must be promoted as it is helping to rejuvenate Chinese language conventional tradition,” Shi mentioned.
Twenty-five groups representing firms, universities and home compounds raced over the 200-meter (650-foot) canal, the place two boats collided within the initial spherical after one in every of them veered from its lane. The 24 members had been all of a sudden rescued from the water and no person was once reported injured, whilst organizers referred to as for extra lifestyles vests and rescue boats.
In spite of temperatures of 35 level Celsius (95 levels Fahrenheit), crowds from across the town of greater than 20 million coated the canal and cheered from a reproduced Chinese language send from the imperial technology.
In Hong Kong, a former British colony the place political and civil liberties had been more and more limited in recent times, the emphasis amongst racers was once on running in combination to succeed in a commonplace function.
“Dragon boat is a group game. It’s essential we proportion a group spirit,” mentioned Andy Ng, the trainer of a neighborhood group. “Each and every member strives with the similar goal, which is being the quickest to the end level. Everybody in my group enjoys it and we benefit from the exercise in combination.”
The races are hooked up to the story of Qu Yuan, a faithful adviser to a Chinese language emperor some 2,500 years in the past who drowned himself in a river after his sage recommendation was once rejected. Consistent with legend, to forestall fish from consuming his frame, supporters tossed in rice truffles, a practice that continues to at the moment as observers mark the 5th day of the 5th lunar month by way of consuming sticky rice dumplings.
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Related Press video newshounds Wayne Chang in Beijing and Alice Fung in Hong Kong contributed to this document.
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