HONG KONG. Throngs of people gathered in southern Hong Kong on Saturday to witness the iconic dragon boat races, a highlight of the Dragon Boat Festival that dates back over 2,000 years.
Following the rhythmic beat of their drummers, crews paddled in unison, pushing their elaborately designed dragon boats toward the finish line. Spectators, both residents and tourists, lined the waterfront, cheering them on.
The festival, known as “Tuen Ng” in Cantonese, is deeply rooted in legend. The most famous story commemorates a patriotic official who, after falling from his leader’s favor and witnessing his kingdom’s decline, drowned himself. Villagers, desperate to recover his body, raced their boats to search for him and tossed rice dumplings into the water to deter fish from eating his remains.
These rice dumplings and the dragon boat races have since become central traditions of the festival, celebrated not just in Hong Kong but also in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. In Beijing, crowds gathered to watch races along the Grand Canal in Tongzhou.
In Hong Kong, a standard dragon boat holds 20 paddlers. According to government estimates, around 380,000 mainland Chinese tourists were expected to visit the city during the three-day holiday, a 16% increase in daily visitor numbers.
Paraluman P. Funtanilla
Paraluman P. Funtanilla is Tutubi News Magazine's Marketing Specialist and is a Contributing Editor. She finished her degree in Communication Arts in De La Salle Lipa. She has worked as a Digital Marketer for start-up businesses and small business spaces for the past two years. She has earned certificates from Coursera on Brand Management: Aligning Business Brand and Behavior and Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content. She also worked with Asia Express Romania TV Show.
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