Dragon Boat Festival Newsletter
May 2011
Dragon Boat (Tuen Ng) Festival 2011
Hong Kong is home to one of the world’s largest Dragon Boat Festivals — the 'International Dragon Boat Championship' at Stanley Beach. This year, the Dragon Boat Festival falls on Monday, 6 June.
According to the traditional Chinese calendar, Tuen Ng Festival (Duanwu Jie in Mandarin), also known as the Dragon Boat Festival, takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The official holiday and festivities fall on a Monday this year, with local communities throughout Hong Kong hosting their own dragon boat races and offering everyone a chance to partake in the excitement of the event while enjoying some traditional foods.
Origins of Tuen Ng
Now one of the three most important festivals in the Chinese calendar, Tuen Ng commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a beloved statesman and poet of the Chinese kingdom of Chu. Jealous rivals falsely accused Qu Yuan of treason, bringing disgrace to his name and leading to his subsequent exile. Overwhelmed by misery, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the nearby Mi Lo River more than 2000 years ago. The festival’s distinctive dragon boat races are a re-enactment of the frantic, vain attempts of the fisherman who rowed out to save him, throwing rice dumplings (zongzi) into the river in the hopes that the river creatures would eat the rice rather than Qu Yuan’s body.
Zongzi
Dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and stuffed with a variety of ingredients, such as beans, lotus seeds, chestnuts, pork and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg, symbolize those that were thrown in the river in the story of Qu Yuan and are widely available at this time of year. Zongzi can be found at grocery stores, cake shops, major hotels and Chinese restaurants.
Dragon Boating
Dragon boats, with ornately carved “dragon” heads & tails, vary in size. Those used at the 'Stanley International Dragon Boat Championship' are medium-sized at 38 ft long, with 18 paddlers sitting in nine rows of two, and a cox at the back racing a 270 meter course to the beat set by a drummer at the front.
Activities Highlight in Cities
Beijing | Guangzhou | Hong Kong | Shanghai
Beijing
| The 4th session of the Beijing Longtan Dragon Boat Festival |
|
| Date | 4-6 June (Saturday - Monday) |
| Time | 6:00 am - 9:00 pm |
| Venue | Longtanhu Park, Longtan Road No.8, Dongcheng District |
| Activities |
Dragon Boat Races, traditional folklore performance, etc. |
| Yuanmingyuan 2011 Dragon Boat Festival Cultural Week |
|
| Date | 31 May - 6 June (Tuesday - Monday) |
| Time | 7am - 5:00 pm onwards |
| Venue | Palace Museum, Qinghua West Rd No. 28, Haidian Dist. |
| Activities |
Dragon Boat Races, traditional folklore performance, etc |
| Dragon Boat Festival Culture |
|
| Date | 31 May - 6 June (Tuesday - Monday) |
| Time | 7am - 5:00 pm onwards |
| Venue | Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, East coast of BeiXiaoYingZhen, Chaobai River, Shunyi Dist. |
| Activities |
Dance performance, traditional handmade art show, folk flower show, zongzi contest and rice dumplings making class for foreigners. |
Guangzhou
| Guangzhou International Dragon Boat Racing Tournament 2011 |
|
| Date | 11 June (Saturday) |
| Time | 11:00 am - 4:30 pm |
|
Venue |
Part of the Pearl River from Haiyin Bridge to Guangzhou Bridge |
| Tuen Ng Concert |
|
| Date | 6 June (Monday) |
| Time | 8:00 pm onwards |
| Venue | Guangdong Art Centre Friendship Theater |
Hong Kong
Many dragon boat races are scheduled in different communities for this year's Dragon Boat Festival on 6 June. They are all free admission. The Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Championship 2011 will be held on 17-19 June. Over 160 local and overseas dragon boat teams will race for glory at this three-day bash. Meanwhile, The Stanley Championship, which is the largest of all races in Hong Kong, is scheduled to take place on 6 June. With more than 200 teams and 4,000 contestants signed up to compete, this is guaranteed to be a fun-filled event. For more information on the festivities visit www.dragonboat.org.hk
| Stanley International Dragon Boat Championship 2011 | |
| Date | 6 June (Monday) |
| Time | 8:00am - 6:00pm |
| Venue |
Stanley Main Beach |
| 2011 Aberdeen Dragon Boat Race |
|
| Date | 6 June (Monday) |
| Time | 8:30am - 4:00pm |
| Venue |
Seafront of Aberdeen Promenade |
| Sha Tin Dragon Boat Race 2011 |
|
| Date | 6 June (Monday) |
| Time | 7:30am - 1:00pm |
| Venue |
Shing Mun River, Sha Tin |
| 2011 The Sai Kung Dragon Boat Races Gala |
|
| Date | 6 June (Monday) |
| Time | Races: 8:00am - 1:30pm Carnival: 1:30pm - 5:00pm |
| Venue |
Races: Sai Kung Town Waterfront, Sai Kung |
| Discovery Bay Dragon Boat Carnival 2011 |
|
| Date | Races: 6 June (Monday) Carnival: 5&6 June (Sunday & Monday) |
| Time | Races: 8:00am - 6:00pm Carnival: 11:00am - 6:00pm |
| Venue |
Races: Tai Bak Beach, Discovery Bay, Lantau Island |
| Tai O Dragon Boat Race in Celebration of Tuen Ng Festival 2011 |
|
| Date | 6 June (Monday) |
| Time | 10:00am - 2:00pm |
| Venue |
Tai O Sheltered Boat Anchorage, Tai O, Lantau Island |
| Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Championship 2011 | |
| Date | 17-19 June (Friday-Sunday) |
| Time | TBC |
| Venue |
Victoria Harbour, Tsim Sha Tsui East |
Shanghai
| The 8th Shanghai Suzhou River Dragon Boat Race |
|
| Date | 6 June (Monday) |
| Time | 2:00 pm onwards |
|
Venue |
Along the Suzhou River |
| 2011 Shanghai Int'l Chinese Dragon Boat Invitation Tournament |
|
| Date | 23 - 24 September (Friday - Saturday) |
| Time | 23 September Morning - Semi Final 23 September Afternoon - Final 24 September Morning - 3,000m rounding race |
| Venue |
Qing Pu District, Xia Yang Lake |
| 2011 Shanghai Citizen Dragon Boat Race |
|
| Date | 4 June (Saturday) |
| Time | TBC |
| Venue |
Songjiang District, Thames Town, Hua Ting Lake |
| Tuen Ng Market |
|
| Date | Now till end of June |
| Time | All day |
| Venue | Yu Garden |
| Activities |
Many interesting activities depicting customs associated with the Tuen Ng Festival take place in this area |
At APP, we believe that understanding Chinese holidays and customs helps both newcomers and long-time residents make the most of this vibrant city and its rich heritage. APP has been helping people find great homes and enjoy Hong Kong and China for more than 25 years. Please feel free to forward this to others who may find its contents useful.
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