Kambojika Putta Khemara Tarei ( Khmer: កម្ពោជិកបុត្តាខេមរាតរី) is a

dragon boat A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province. These were made of teak, but in other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used. It is one of a family ...

from

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

. The boat holds the

Guinness record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

of being the longest dragon boat in the world. With an overall length of , in November 2018, the boat beat the previous record of set by a Chinese dragon boat in May 2016. The boat was showcased during the 2018

Water Festival The Water Festival is the New Year's celebrations that take place in Southeast Asian nations such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand as well as among the Dai people of China. It is called the 'Water Festival' by Westerners because they no ...

in Phnom Penh.

History

The boat was built to remember the history of production and use of dragon boats by the Khmer people and

Khmer kings The monarchy of Cambodia is the head of state of the Kingdom of Cambodia. In the contemporary period, the King's power has been limited to that of a symbolic figurehead. The monarchy had been in existence since at least 68 AD except during ...

in older times, who used dragon boats as means of transport to defend the territory. The boat was built by ''Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia'' at an overall cost of . Construction of the boat began in April 2018 and it took nearly seven months to finish the construction. The boat measures in overall length, in width and it can accommodate 179

oarsman Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically atta ...

. More than 13,000 people participated in the construction of the boat and it was completely hand-made. The name ''Kambojika Putta Khemara Tarei'' translates to “Dragon Boat of Khmer Youth in Cambodian Territory". The 179 oarsman in the boat symbolizes the day Cambodia was liberated from Khmer Rouge (7 January 1979); 1 being the month and 79 the year.

Images

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em Dragon boat racing Boat types Guinness World Records