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China Dragon Boat Festival
Residents watch a dragon boat race during the Dragon Boat Festival at a canal in Tongzhou, outskirts of Beijing, Monday, June 10, 2024. The Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar and is marked by eating rice dumplings and racing dragon boats. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Taiwan nighttime dragon boat racing puts a modern twist on an ancient tradition

Across the Chinese diaspora, racing in dragon boats has been a tradition reaching back thousands of years

By Ap News
Published - Jun 10, 2024, 04:31 AM ET
Last Updated - Jun 10, 2024, 04:32 AM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Across the Chinese diaspora, racing in dragon boats has been a tradition reaching back thousands of years.

But change is afoot, most recently in central Taiwan where the races were switched to the evening to take advantage of cooler temperatures, a refreshing breeze and the sight of the boats lit up with LED lights running the length of the low-lying watercraft.

A drummer pounds out a rhythm behind the elaborately carved dragon head in the bow, while a navigator sits in the stern, where a tail rises to complete the look of the mythical animal, a traditional Chinese harbinger of prosperity and good luck.

It is mainly an amateur sport and crews are formed among groups of neighbors and co-workers. Emily Lin, 31, who works as a sales executive in Changhua county, said training sessions at a local junior high school were an excellent way to strengthen friendships outside of work.

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