The Zhuhai Doumen Dragon Boat Cultural Festival opens at Xidi Park (西堤公园) of Jing'an Town (井岸镇) on Sunday, May 19. Forty-nine teams from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will race down the turbulent Huangyang River.

Twenty-four out-of-town teams among more than 50 emerged victorious in a mass-election to qualify for the Open Group. Seven are from Hong Kong and Macao, hitting a new high in team numbers for those areas.

Meanwhile, the Native Group will feature participation of local districts, towns, subdistricts, administrative institutions, enterprises, colleges, social organizations, and locally stationed representative departments.

Dragon boat fleets

Contestants of the two groups will compete in the 600-m (656-yd) track with standard dragon boats, while the newly introduced Youngsters Group will see four teams of Zhuhai middle-school students and elementary pupils compete in the 100-m (109-yd) straightway track with small dragon boats. The strong wind and adverse current of Huangyang River are expected to add some thrills.

One of the teams to note will be Doumen Football Association B. It will be crewed in part by five males and three females from Ukraine, Poland, and other countries, who are fascinated by the district's dragon boat culture.

Dragon heads

Meanwhile, three large two-headed color dragon boats from Foshan, each 30 m (33 yd) long, will carry 50 to 100 paddlers in contrast to the standard dragon boats with 22.

Part of the event will be a dragon boat invitational, dragon dances, selection of excellent photographic works, picture exhibition, and cultural and sports performances. The launch ceremony of the 7th Doumen Civic Sports Festival will be held on the same day.

Training

Teamwork [Photos by Zeng Yao / Zhuhai Daily]