Going for dragon boat glory
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2004-10-20 09:56

It's a traditional Chinese sport that now thrives on a global scale, but dragon boat racing returns to its cultural roots today when paddlers from 19 countries gather in Shanghai's Qingpu District for the Fifth Dragon Boat Racing World Championships.

The National Water Sports Center on Dianshan Lake will see some of the best dragon boat action in the world over the next four days at the first-ever world championship to be held in Shanghai. China, the country where the sport began, hosted the first world championship in Yueyang in Central China's Hunan Province in 1995.

"Hunan Province staged the first world championship nine years ago, but the sport has developed into a full-blown international competition in the years afterwards,"says Zhang Renjie, a member of the organizing committee of the dragon boat event."So this is a tournament on a much bigger scale and at a higher level." Altogether, 1,800 amateur athletes from home and abroad in 71 teams will be competing on Dianshan Lake compared with around 800 athletes at the Hunan event. They have already settled in at the picturesque venue, about 30 kilometers northwest of the downtown area, in preparation for the historic event—although it is a delayed occasion.

The International Dragon Boat Federation, the sport's world governing body, awarded Shanghai the right to host the world championship as early as the beginning of last year with racing originally scheduled for September last year.

The SARS outbreak put the event on hold but the passion to bring the sport home once again never cooled.

"We're glad that the tournament has finally touched down in Shanghai despite all the twists and difficulties along the road,"says Mike Haslam, executive vice president of the federation.

The world championship is normally held in odd numbered years. To show its commitment to Shanghai, however, the governing body suspended the 2003 event and re-schedule it in an even-number year for the first time.

But the waiting has been worthwhile given the importance of putting China back on the map of dragon boat racing.

Dragon boat racing first took place more than 3,000 years ago on the life-sustaining rivers of South China. It was a fertility rite performed to ensure bountiful crops.

The first races were held on the fifth day of May in the Chinese lunar calendar. The race was held to avert misfortune and encourage the rains needed for good crops. The object of worship was the dragon, said to be the god who governs rainfall.

But for a nation as romantic as China, this"down-to-the earth" explanation was not enough. The sport is also widely known as a commemoration of the death of Qu Yuan, a poet and revered official during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC).Qu had protested against the corrupt court of his native State of Chu and was stripped of his office as a minister of state.

Sent into exile by the king and his political foes, Qu wandered the countryside, unhappy and dejected. The collapse of the State of Chu following the invasion of its stronger neighbors was the last traw for Qu. He despaired and finally flung himself into the Miluo River in what is now Hunan Province.

When local fishermen learned of Qu's suicide, they desperately raced out in their boats, trying to save their beloved poet, beating drums to scare off the fish that they thought would eat his body. They also dropped rice dumplings (or "zongzi"in Chinese) in the water as a sacrifice to his spirit. The scene of the fishermen racing out to save Qu is reenacted every year in the form of dragon boat racing.

The story adds a legendary flavor to the sport but dragon boat racing today has become a truly crossculturala activity, treasured by people who know about the fate of the poet Qu and those who engage in it just for the fun of the sport.

The Qingpu world championship includes racing in up to 20 classes, determined by age groups and the gender of the paddlers. There's even a contest on the water between teams of breast cancer survivors, indicating the sport's inclusiveness and popularity among ordinary people.

"I'll try to set aside time to go to Qingpu to see the racing myself," says Huang Huan, a senior local amateur dragon boat paddler who has taken part in a number of dragon boat races in the city, including the well-known Suzhou Creek event.

Despite not having the opportunity to splash his paddle on Dianshan Lake this time around, Huang says that just be looking on he could savor the essence of the sport.

"Teamwork takes priority. When the drum bangs, you follow the pace and the same goes for your teammates.Lose or win, when you cross the line, you'll feel fulfilled inside because you know you made it with more than 10 partners. That's quite an achievement,"says Huang.

Visitors with tickets to Zhujiajiao Ancient Town or the Oriental Green Boat campsite will be able to view part of the regatta course.