"The number of orders is outrageous!" Dragon boat has become a new top stream of cultural tourism! The post-80s generation has a revenue of 5 million a year

Sino-Singapore warp and weft

2024-06-10 10:38Posted on the official account of Beijing Zhongxin Jingwei

Zhongxin Jingwei, June 10 (Zheng Yijia) The dragon shipyard of Mo Weiliang, a "post-80s" guy in Dongguan, Guangdong, has been established for more than a year, and its annual turnover is expected to reach 5 million yuan, which is still a normal level in the local industry.

As one of the main materials of traditional dragon boats, Pontianak wood needs to be imported from abroad and made from it, and the cost of a dragon boat can reach about 400,000 yuan.

Recently, dragon boat racing has become the new top stream of cultural tourism, and under the popularity, how strong is the ability of dragon boats to absorb gold?

"Place an order at least half a year in advance"

When he received the call from Sino-Singapore Jingwei, Mo Weiliang, a partner of Machong Dragon Shipyard in Dongguan, Guangdong, was busy receiving customers.

In Guangdong, a major dragon boat province, Mo Weiliang's dragon shipyard belongs to the "quite young" group, which will only officially open in November 2023. However, the "post-80s" Mo Weiliang himself is a senior dragon boat fan.

He has been learning dragon boat since he was 10 years old, and in 2012 he formed a dragon boat club and participates in various dragon boat races every year. In February 2023, Mo Weiliang, who has been in the timber business for more than ten years, had a flash of inspiration, why not open a dragon shipyard by himself?

Mo Weiliang, together with other partners, recruited experienced local shipbuilders in Macong, and a dragon shipyard was built.

As soon as it opened, Mo Weiliang's Dragon Shipyard received four orders. In addition to the traditional manufacture of wooden dragon boats, the factory also produces various types of boats and dragon boat craft products, and dragon boat crafts are currently in high demand, and related products are sold very well.

According to Mo Weiliang, the factory has received more than 10 orders for dragon boats, including export orders from Hong Kong, China, plus derivative handicrafts of dragon boats, the annual turnover of the factory can reach 3 million to 5 million yuan, which is a normal level in the local industry.

"The number of orders is outrageous!" Dragon boat has become a new top stream of cultural tourism! The post-80s generation has a revenue of 5 million a year

Dragon boat launched Photo courtesy of the interviewee

According to Tianyancha data, up to now, there are more than 970 dragon boat-related enterprises in China. From January to April 2024, more than 10 new related enterprises were registered, an increase of 42.9% compared with the same period in 2023; From the perspective of geographical distribution, Hunan, Guangdong and Hubei have dragon boat-related enterprises in the forefront, with more than 130, 120 and 100 respectively; From the perspective of establishment time, 36.5% of related enterprises were established within 1-5 years, and 39.1% of related enterprises were established for more than 10 years.

As the "soul" of dragon boats, the production market of dragon heads is even hotter.

Zhang Weichao is the inheritor of Guangzhou's intangible cultural heritage project "Dragon Boat Dragon Head and Dragon Tail Production Skills", and is also the leading producer of the promotional video for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Since 2023, Zhang Weichao has maintained a state of work saturation, "almost all year round".

"Now in addition to Guangdong, there are orders from other provinces and even overseas Chinese, but now we can't even digest the orders in the Pearl River Delta region, and there are ridiculously many orders." Zhang Weichao said.

Cantonese people attach great importance to dragon boat culture, and related dragon boat activities have been continuously launched since the eighth day of the fourth lunar month every year and will last for a month. Due to the need for handmade faucets and limited production, the number of new faucets made by Zhang Weichao a year is about 60, and the number of repaired and refurbished faucets is also about 50-60.

It is understood that although the dragon boat manufacturing has introduced emerging technologies such as CNC carving, such technology can only be satisfied with mass production, and the traditional dragon boat team of each village often needs to reflect the local characteristics, and needs to be customized according to the traditional use habits, size, shape, etc.

Workers inspect dragon boats Courtesy of the interviewee

Since Guangdong has a large number of dragon boat participants, it is often necessary to make an appointment with a master to make a dragon boat or dragon head half a year, a year or even more in advance.

"If you go to the master when the Dragon Boat Festival is coming, no one will be able to take the job." Zhang Weichao said that in order to cope with the influx of demand, he needs to start processing the next year's orders in October of the previous year, and complete them by the middle of the fourth lunar month of the following year.

The cost of 400,000 boats, who is buying dragon boats?

With solid wood and handmade customization, the cost of making a traditional dragon boat is not low.

According to Mo Weiliang, the current materials of traditional dragon boats mainly include Pontianak wood and fir wood. Among them, the cost of fir dragon boats is about 120,000-150,000 yuan, the weight of wood is lighter, and the gliding speed is faster. The dragon boat made of Pontianak wood is very durable, the preservation time can be up to 100 years, usually imported from Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries, a 30-40 meter long dragon boat often costs 300,000-400,000 yuan.

It is reported that in Guangzhou, Foshan and other places, there are not a few Pontianak wooden dragon boats with a history of 150 years, and they can be used normally every year due to the maintenance in place.

Although dragon boats are expensive, they are still quite popular in Guangdong.

Zhang Weichao told China-Singapore Jingwei that most of the buyers of local dragon boats are mainly villages, with thousands of people in each village and tens of thousands of people, and the relevant expenses are shared equally by the villagers, and each household may be able to buy a dragon boat worth hundreds of thousands of yuan by pooling a few hundred yuan. "For the locals, this kind of concerted efforts is also a manifestation of the unity and maintenance of the feelings of the villagers." Zhang Weichao said.

Regarding the title of "aristocratic sport" and other titles in dragon boat rowing on the Internet, as well as the "landlord net worth" of dragon boat team members, Zhang Weichao said: "A lot of comments are saying that there are few dragon boats in Guangdong that cannot be on the boat, which is actually a wrong way to attract attention, ignoring the origin and cultural significance behind dragon boating." ”

On the other hand, as the dragon boat culture is becoming more and more popular in China, the demand for dragon boats in provinces and cities other than Guangdong Province is also rising, and some scenic spots have also become buyers.

Not long ago, a museum in Beijing came to inspect Mo Weiliang's dragon shipyard, hoping to display the dragon boat culture in the scenic area. However, dragon boats often need to be transported in their entirety, and the transportation cost is also a significant expense. It is understood that dragon boats are usually transported by land by trucks with extra-long carriages, for example, the freight from Guangdong to Zhejiang is about 10,000-15,000 yuan.

The relevant person in charge of the Beijing International Friends Dragon Boat Club also told Zhongxin Jingwei that the manufacturing standards of traditional dragon boats in various places are different, and the dragon boats used for racing are mainly made of fiberglass, and the traditional dragon boats are made of solid wood, and the price of dragon boats is usually composed of the production cost and transportation cost of the boat.

In addition to the dragon boat manufacturing industry itself, its derivative events and cultural tourism market have also attracted much attention.

According to Tianyancha data, in the three days of the 2022 Dragon Boat Racing Cultural Festival, Yuan County, Qiandongnan Town, Guizhou Province, received 319,400 tourists, with a comprehensive tourism income of 326 million yuan. The "dragon boat fever" also burned to the north. For example, during the Dragon Boat Festival this year, Beijing will hold at least five dragon boat races of various kinds; Tianjin Haihe, Wuqing Nanhu Park and other places will also hold dragon boat races.

According to Ctrip's statistics, during this year's Dragon Boat Festival, Guangzhou ranked fourth among the most popular destinations for travel around the country, and the traditional folk activity "Dragon Boat" made the travel search popularity of Dongguan destinations increase by more than 40% year-on-year.

Mafengwo data also shows that the dragon boat competitions held in various places have driven the popularity of "dragon boat racing" to increase by 133% month-on-month, and the "Foshan Diejiao Dragon Boat Drift Competition" has driven the popularity of Foshan to increase by 100%. In addition, around the production and manufacturing of dragon boats, surrounding primary and secondary schools often use dragon boat manufacturers and studios as research and tourism destinations.

According to data from Douyin Life Service, from May 30 to June 5, the number of orders for wine tourism and catering in many dragon boat racing areas increased significantly. Guangxi Chongzuo-related orders increased by 227% compared with last year's Dragon Boat Festival. The number of orders for wine tourism and catering in Nanchang, Jiangxi, which held the International Dragon Boat Race, increased by 178% year-on-year. The Yongzhou Daoxian Dragon Boat Race in Hunan Province set a new Guinness World Record, and the number of local cultural tourism orders in Yongzhou increased by 101% year-on-year. In addition, the number of cultural tourism orders in Foshan, Guangdong and Tongren, Guizhou also reached 91% and 73% year-on-year growth.

"With the development of society and the progress of science and technology, individuals will gradually no longer rely on group life, and there are fewer and fewer opportunities to gather the strength of the whole village to accomplish a goal together, and dragon boat rowing is to give the public such an opportunity." Zhang Weichao said, "To put it mildly, traditional festival activities are actually based on everyone's confidence in their own culture and a kind of affection for their hometown. Dragon boat rowing is not just a custom, it's a way of life. ”

Editor in charge: Chang Tao Luo Kun

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