A dragon boat is a
human-powered watercraft
Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled by human power.
The three main methods of collecting human power are directly from the hands or feet, through the hands with oars, paddles, or poles, or through the feet with pedals and a crank o ...
originating from the
Pearl River Delta
The Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD; ; pt, Delta do Rio das Pérolas (DRP)) is the low-lying area surrounding the Pearl River estuary, where the Pearl River flows into the South China Sea. Referred to as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Mac ...
region of
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
's southern
Guangdong Province
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
. These were made of
teak
Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...
, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family of traditional paddled long boats found throughout
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, the Pacific islands, and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. The sport of dragon boat racing has its roots in an ancient folk ritual of contending villagers, which dates back 2000 years throughout southern China, and even further to the original games of
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
in
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
. Both dragon boat racing and the ancient
Olympiad
An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games.
Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not until ...
included aspects of religious observances and community celebrations, along with competitions.
Dragon boat racing has been a traditional Chinese paddled watercraft activity for over 2000 years and began as a modern international sport in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
in 1976. These boats are typically made of
carbon fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
,
fiberglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
, and other lightweight materials. For
competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...
events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative
Chinese dragon
The Chinese dragon, also known as ''loong'', ''long'' or ''lung'', is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture at large. Chinese dragons have many Outline of life forms, animal-like forms such as Bixi (my ...
heads and tails. At other times (such as during training), decorative regalia is usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for drummers to practice. For races, there are 18-20 people in a standard boat, and 8-10 in a small boat, not including the steersperson (sweep) and the drummer.
In December 2007, the central government of the People's Republic of China added the
Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival ( zh, s=端午节, t=端午節) is a traditional Chinese holiday which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which corresponds to late May or June in the Gregorian calendar.
Names
The Engl ...
, along with the
Qingming
The Qingming festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day or Ancestors' Day), is a traditional Chinese festival observed by the Han Chinese of mainland China, Hong Ko ...
and
Mid-Autumn
The Mid-Autumn Festival ( Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and other countries in Ea ...
festivals, to the schedule of national holidays.
History
Similar to the use of
outrigger canoe
Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull. They can range from small dugout canoes to large plank-built vessels. Outrigger ...
s or
Polynesian va'a
Vaʻa is a word in Samoan, Hawaiian and Tahitian which means 'boat', 'canoe' or 'ship'. A larger traditional seagoing vessel for long-distance voyages is referred to as ''vaʻa tele'' (big ship). The term ''alia'' is also used for larger vessel ...
, dragon boat racing has a rich background of ancient ceremonial, ritualistic and religious traditions, and thus, the modern competitive aspect is but one small part of this complex dragon boat culture. The use of dragon boats for racing and dragons are believed by scholars,
sinologists
Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the ex ...
, and anthropologists to have originated in southern central China more than 2500 years ago, in
Dongting Lake
Dongting Lake () is a large, shallow lake in northeastern Hunan Province, China. It is a flood basin of the Yangtze River, so its volume depends on the season. The provinces of Hubei and Hunan are named after their location relative to the lak ...
and along the banks of the Chang Jiang (now called the
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
) during the same era when the games of
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
were being established at
Olympia
The name Olympia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film
* ''Olympia'' (1938 film), by Leni Riefenstahl, documenting the Berlin-hosted Olympic Games
* ''Olympia'' (1998 film), about a Mexican soap opera star who pursues a career as an athlet ...
. Dragon boat racing has been practiced continuously since this period as the basis for annual water rituals and festival celebrations, and for the traditional veneration of the
Chinese dragon water deity. The celebration was an important part of the ancient Chinese agricultural society, celebrating the summer rice planting. Dragon boat racing was historically situated in the Chinese subcontinent's southern-central "rice bowl"; where there were rice paddies, so there were dragon boats, too.
Of the twelve animals which make up the traditional
Chinese zodiac
The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain ...
, only the
Dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
is a mythical creature. All the rest are non-mythical animals, yet all twelve of the zodiac creatures were well known to members of ancient Chinese agrarian communities. Dragons were traditionally believed to be the rulers of water on earth: rivers, lakes, and seas; they were also thought to dominate the waters of the heavens: clouds, mists, and rains. There are earth dragons, mountain dragons, and sky or celestial dragons (Tian Long) in Chinese tradition. Mythical dragons and serpents are also found widely in many cultures around the world.
Traditional dragon boat racing, in China, coincides with the ''5th day of the 5th
Chinese lunar month'' (varying from late May to June on the modern Gregorian Calendar). The
summer solstice
The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
occurs around 21 June and is the reason why Chinese refer to their festival as "Duan Wu" or "Duen Ng". Both the sun and the dragon are considered to be male (the moon and the mythical phoenix, however, are considered to be female). The sun and the dragon are at their most potent during this time of the year, so cause for observing this through ritual celebrations such as dragon boat racing. It is also the time of year when rice seedlings must be transplanted in their paddy fields to allow for wet rice cultivation. Wu or Ng refers to the sun at its highest position in the sky during the day, the meridian of 'high noon'. Duan or Duen refers to upright or directly overhead. Thus, Duan Wu is an ancient reference to the maximum position of the sun in the
northern hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
, the longest day of the year or the summer solstice.
Venerating the dragon deity was meant to avert misfortune and calamity and encourage
rainfall
Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
, which is needed for the fertility of the crops and thus, for the prosperity of an agrarian way of life. Celestial dragons were considered the controllers of rain, monsoons, winds, and clouds. The Emperor was "The Dragon" or the "Son of Heaven", and Chinese people sometimes refer to themselves as "dragons" because of its spirit of strength and vitality. Unlike dragons in
European mythology Mythologies by region
Africa
*Bantu mythology
Central Africa
*Baluba mythology
* Bushongo mythology
* Kongo mythology
* Lugbara mythology
* Mbuti mythology
East Africa
* Dinka mythology
* Kalenjin mythology
*Lotuko mythology
*Maasai mythology ...
, which are typically considered to be evil and demonic, Asian dragons are regarded as wholesome and benevolent, and thus worthy of veneration, not slaying. If rainfall is insufficient, however, drought and famine can result. Veneration of dragons in China seems to be associated with annually ensuring life-giving water and bountiful rice harvests in south-central China.
Another ritual called ''
Awakening of the Dragon
Awakening(s) may refer to:
* Wakefulness, the state of being conscious
Religion
* Awakening (Finnish religious movement), a Lutheran movement in Finland
* Great Awakening, several periods of Anglo-American Christian revival
* Bodhi (''awakening ...
'' involves a
Taoist priest
A daoshi (道士 "master of the Tao"), translated as Taoist priest, Taoist monk, Taoist master or Professional Taoist, is a priest in Taoism. Along with Han Chinese priests, there are also many practicing ethnic minority priests in China. Some o ...
dotting the bulging eyes of the carved dragon head attached to the boat. Doing so symbolizes the dragon ending its slumber and reenergizing its spirit, or ch'i. In modern dragon boat festivals, a representative can be invited to step forward to dot the eyes on a dragon boat head with a brush dipped in red paint.
Not understanding the significance of Duanwu, 19th-century European observers of the racing ritual referred to the associated spectacle as a "dragon boat festival". This is the term that has become known in the West. Dragon boat racing, like Duanwu, is observed and celebrated in many areas of east Asia with a significant population of
ethnic Chinese
The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation.
Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...
such as
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, and the
Riau Islands
The Riau Islands ( id, Kepulauan Riau) is a province of Indonesia. It comprises a total of 1,796 islands scattered between Sumatra, Malay Peninsula, and Borneo including the Riau Archipelago. Situated on one of the world's busiest shipping la ...
, as well as having been adopted by the
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...
since ancient times. The date on which races were held is referred to as the "double fifth", since Duanwu is reckoned as the fifth day of the fifth
lunar month
In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month.
Variations
In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Europ ...
, which often falls on the
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
month of June and occasionally in May or July. Duanwu is reckoned annually in accordance with the traditional
calendar system of China, which is a combination of solar and lunar cycles, unlike the solar-based
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
system.
The
Khmer Empire used dragon boats in their naval battles. Today, Cambodia honors the use of dragon boats by the Khmer Empire's navy by hosting dragon boat competitions at the
Bon Om Touk
(The Royal Boat Racing Festival, Lanterns Floating, Taste the Ambok and Worship the Moon)
, nickname = ''Cambodian Water Festival''
, observedby = Cambodians
, litcolor =
, longtype =
, significance = Marks the Cambodian ...
water festival.
Laos
Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
which emerged from the
Khmer Empire organizes a similar dragon boat festival on the Mekong River called
Boun Suang Huea
The boat racing festival called Boun Suang Heua or Boun Xuang Heua (Lao: ບຸນຊ່ວງເຮືອ) or Loy Krathong (Lao: ລອຍກະໂທງ) is celebrated every year, particularly in Laos, usually in October, at the end of Buddhist ...
. The world's longest dragon boat is located in Cambodia and known as the
Kambojika Putta Khemara Tarei.
Crew
The
crew
A crew is a body or a class of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the tasks involve ...
of a standard dragon boat typically consists of 22 team members: 20 paddlers in pairs facing toward the bow of the boat, 1 drummer or caller at the bow facing toward the paddlers, and 1 steerer standing at the rear of the boat. Dragon boats, however, do vary in length and the crew size changes accordingly, from small dragon boats with only 10 paddlers up to traditional boats which have upwards of 50 paddlers, plus drummer(s) and steerer.
Drummer
The pulsation of the
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
beats produced by the drummer may be considered the "
heartbeat" of the dragon boat. The drummer leads the paddlers throughout a race using the rhythmic drum beat to indicate the frequency and synchronization of all the paddlers' strokes (that is, the cadence, picking up or accelerating the pace, slowing the rate, etc.). The drummer may issue commands to the crew through a combination of hand signals and voice calls, and also generally exhorts the crew to perform at their peak. A drummer is typically mandatory during racing events, but if he or she is not present during training, it is typical for the sweep to direct the crew during a race. The drummer's role is both tactical and ceremonial. In official competitions, such as world championships, drummers must physically beat the drum, else the team may be issued a penalty. In other events or practices, the drummer of an experienced team may not hit the drum, as the team can paddle naturally together, without a drum beat.
Good drummers should be able to
synchronize their drumming with the strokes of the leading pair of paddlers, rather than the other way around.
Paddlers
Pairs of paddlers sit facing forward in the boat, and use a specific type of
paddle
A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened distal end (i.e. the ''blade''), used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered wa ...
which, unlike equipment used in rowing, is not rigged to the boat in any way. The paddlers face the direction of boat-movement, dragon boaters thus "paddle," like a canoe; while rowers "row" travelling opposite the way they face as in Olympic
sculling
Sculling is the use of oars to propel a boat by moving them through the water on both sides of the craft, or moving one oar over the stern. A long, narrow boat with sliding seats, rigged with two oars per rower may be referred to as a scull, it ...
.
The paddle now accepted by the
International Dragon Boat Organization
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
has a standardized, fixed blade surface area and distinctive shape derived from the paddle shapes characteristic of that used by inhabitants of the
Pearl River
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...
delta region of Guangdong Province, China adjacent to Hong Kong. The IDBF Paddle Specification 202a (PS202a) has straight flared edges and circular arced shoulders, based geometrically on an equilateral triangle positioned between the blade face and the neck of the shaft.
The first pair of paddlers, called "pacers," "strokes" or "timers," set the pace for the team and are responsible for synchronizing their strokes with one another, because it is critical that all paddlers are synchronized. The direction of the dragon boat while racing is set by the steerer, but for docking and other maneuvers, individual paddlers may be asked to paddle (while others either stop the boat or rest) according to the commands given by the drummer or steerer.
There are generally three different strokes used by paddlers: a (normal) forward stroke, a backstroke, and a draw stroke.
Steerer
The direction of a dragon boat's movement is controlled by the steerer standing in the back of the boat. Many terms exist for the person steering the boat, such as steerer, steersperson, steerman, sweep, and helm.
The steerer manipulates a long (typically 9-feet) straight oar, called a steering oar. The steering oar is situated in a mechanism that holds the oar in place, called oar lock. The oar lock can be in a variety of designs, so long as it holds the oar in place and allows it to pivot. It is housed on top of the steering arm, which sticks out perpendicularly on the back-left of a dragon boat.
The oar is used to both steer the boat as it is moving and adjust the positioning of the boat. To steer, a steerer will put the blade of the oar into the water and either push the handle away from him/her, or pull it toward him/her. Doing so will turn the boat right or left, respectively.
A steerer can also use the steering oar to adjust the position of the boat by cranking. When a steerer cranks the steering oar, the stern of the boat moves either to the left or right, spinning the boat. This is typically executed to turn the boat around at practice or to ensure a boat is lined up straight and pointing directly down a racecourse.
A steerer uses calls to direct the paddlers. The steerer may call "paddles up" to prepare to paddle and "take it away!" to commence paddling. The steerer may use other calls such as "hold the boat" for the paddlers to brake using their paddles or "let it ride" for them to lift their paddles out of the water.
The steerer is also the person to who calls the demands in the race for paddlers to better their placement and time in the event that they are participating in.
Racing
Modern dragon boat racing is organized at the international level by the
International Dragon Boat Federation
The International Dragon Boat Federation () is the international governing body for the team watersport of dragon boat racing. The Founder of the IDBF was Mike MacKeddie-Haslam (Great Britain) and the IDBF Founding Members in Hong Kong the on J ...
(IDBF), the world governing body for the sport. The IDBF is a member of the
Global Association of International Sports Federations
Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...
and is a founding federation of the AIMS Group (Alliance of Independent Recognized Members of Sport) within GAISF. AIMS is an
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
-Recognized Multi Sports Organization. The
International Canoe Federation
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated ...
(ICF) also has a dragon boat program for those of its Member Canoe Federations with an interest in dragon boat. Both Sport and Festival racing are very competitive and many paddlers train year round, using paddling machines or pools in addition to on-water sessions.
A festival race is typically a sprint event of several hundred meters, with 500 meters being the most common. Races measuring 200, 1000, and 2000 meters are also standard distances in international competition. Races measuring 2000 meters are normally held on a 500-meter course, requiring teams to do two loops. Teams start and end at the same end of the course, and complete three 180-degree turns. Other distances may also be used in local festivals, such as 100 or 250 meters, or another distance, depending on the size of the
body of water
A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as p ...
.
Organizations, recognition and popular culture
The established International Federation for dragon boat sport is the
International Dragon Boat Federation
The International Dragon Boat Federation () is the international governing body for the team watersport of dragon boat racing. The Founder of the IDBF was Mike MacKeddie-Haslam (Great Britain) and the IDBF Founding Members in Hong Kong the on J ...
(IDBF). In 2007, the IDBF was recognized as a member of
SportAccord
Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...
(the former ''General Association of International Sports Federations'', GAISF) which is part of the
Olympic Movement
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
, after SportAccord considered the historical and cultural backgrounds and identities of dragon boat sports.
IDBF member associations or federations have been established in 89 countries or territories since 1991. The IDBF is not presently an Olympic International Federation of the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC), but the IOC is currently considering the IDBF application for Olympic Federation status.
The
International Canoe Federation
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated ...
, an IOC-recognized entity that governs many canoeing disciplines has also started to sanction Dragon Boat events. The ICF Dragon Boat World Championships have been held since 2006.
Accidents and incidents
* On 17 January 2010,
a dragon boat capsized while training in
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
killed 6 paddlers on board.
* On 11 February 2011,
a dragon boat capsized while training due to wind in
Præstø
Præstø () is a town with a population of 3,857 (1 January 2022) in Vordingborg Municipality in Region Sjælland on the east coast of the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'').
The islands of '' Maderne'', ''Storeholm'', and ''Lilleholm'' are part ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
killing one paddler.
* On 9 June 2016, three people drowned after their dragon boat capsized during a race in
Fujian Province
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
* On 22 April 2018, seventeen drowned in a dragon boat accident on the Taohua River in Guilin,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
* On 25 September 2019, seven people drowned near
Boracay
Boracay (; often locally shortened to Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of three barangays in Malay, Akla ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
See also
*
Nouka Baich
Nouka Baich ( bn, নৌকা বাইচ, lit. ''Boat Race'', also spelt ''Nowka Bais'') is a traditional dragon boat-style paddling sport of Bangladesh. The ''Bangladesh Rowing Federation'', established in 1974, is the authority of all rowing ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragon Boat
Dragon boat racing
Canoeing
Chinese inventions
Vietnamese traditions