Fujian Daily, New Fujian Client, July 1 (Reporter Lin Peng, Correspondent Xie Huiting, Lu Deshan) On the morning of the 1st, the 2024 Xianyou Nanqiao Five Emperor Temple "Xingxian Cup" Dragon Boat Friendship Race Xianyou Nanqiao Mulan Creek Five Emperor Temple Creek Section opened.
It is reported that the competition lasted for three days, and the scale of participation broke history, with a total of 5 townships, 12 communities, 13 dragon boat teams, and more than 400 athletes participating.
The opening ceremony was crowded with gongs and drums. The short rain did not extinguish the enthusiasm of the crowd, and as the dragon boats were launched one by one, the participating dragon boats held an exhibition race on the water. When the referee's order sounded, the dragon boats drew a long waterline on the water surface like dragons out of the water. The athletes swung their oars and hit the waves, the golden drums on the boat sounded in unison, and the whistles, the passionate trumpets of the rowers, and the drums cheering on the bow of the boat, one after another. The onlookers watched the game from the shore, cheering and shouting endlessly.
It is worth mentioning that Xianyou County is located in the upper reaches of Mulan River, the river is wide and the water is smooth, and the unique natural conditions have created a long history of dragon boat sports, which has been inherited for thousands of years since the Song Dynasty, has a broad mass base, and established the city's first dragon boat association. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, the boards of directors of the palaces and temples on both sides of Mulan Creek will take turns to host the dragon boat race, one is to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan and the anti-Japanese hero Qi Jiguang, the second is to enhance the friendship between the villages and residences in the Mulan Creek Basin, and the third is to pray for smooth wind and rain, national peace and security.
Source: Fujian Daily client