London spectators soak up ambience of Dragon Boat Festival
The ancient Chinese tradition of dragon boat racing has evolved into a major international sport with paddlers now taking to the water in competitions all over the world.
In London, thousands support an annual day of races at the Royal Docks, adjacent to the capital’s City Airport, to celebrate and take part in the tradition that dates back more than 2,000 years.
The London Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival is now one of the biggest cross-cultural events in Britain, with the 23rd edition taking place earlier this month.
Teams of paddlers powered long, narrow boats down the River Thames to the rhythmic beating of drums, hoping to win one of five trophies.
The event was founded by the London Chinatown Lions Club 23 years ago, and the club has continued as the organizer.
What started out as a small fundraiser for Chinese schools has turned into a major cultural event for London and the Chinese community.
Lawrence Lee, former president of the London Chinatown Lions Club, was part of the committee that set up the event.
“We started off at a much smaller venue in Westferry Road and had food stalls and raffle tickets to raise funds for Chinese schools to print textbooks,” Lee said. “At the time, it was called Dragon Boat Fun Day. There were only around 10 to 12 teams.”
But through the years, the competition and interest have grown and the festival had to move to a bigger venue — the Royal Docks.
Around 40 teams now take part, with some 10,000 visitors and spectators soaking up the festivities of music, Asian food stalls and performances.
Lee said he is proud of how the festival has developed, adding that the event is also a way to keep Chinese identity and culture vibrant in the UK.
He added that such events are well received by the younger British-Chinese generation who are “becoming more involved and more interested in Chinese culture”.
Competitors say dragon boat racing is very much about being part of a team and bringing communities together.
“There are so many people coming from so many backgrounds, and it really represents what dragon boat racing means in Hong Kong, about multiculturalism, multifaith,” said Jackie Lam, captain of the Hong Kong Family team. “It’s just a great environment of people coming together from everywhere in the world.”
The festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional Chinese calendar, on June 18 this year.
The day commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a Chinese poet who was born in 340 BC during China’s Warring States Period (475-221 BC).
In despair, Qu drowned himself in a river following the defeat of his homeland capital, now part of Hubei province. To keep the fish away from his body, villagers took to their boats, beating drums and splashing with paddles.
Priscilla To, director-general of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office London, said, “Celebrating this traditional festival is part of Hong Kong’s lifestyle and in taking part in this event we join with many other dragon boat festivals taking place around the world.”