Everyone's seen the sleek boats, the flying oars and the colourful teams of men and women racing their hearts out. All that sweat-soaked straining to win is even more fascinating when you realize the story behind this special festival dates back to the 3rd century BC. In a way that's true to the Hong Kong spirit, there's ceremony, competition and copious munching to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan (or Wat Yuen in Cantonese) who drowned himself in the Miluo River in Hunan Province in protest against corrupt rulers.
During this Warring States period when various kingdoms were constantly battling for supremacy and Qu was championing political loyalty and integrity, corrupt ministers convinced the king to send Qu into exile. As his former king's land began to fall to the marauding Qin, Qu supposedly tied himself to a huge rock and waded into the river to drown. Legend says that the local people raced out to rescue him, beating drums and slapping paddles in the water to scare away the fish. They also threw dumplings into the water to keep hungry fish away from his body.
Traditionally, dragon boats were manned by 40 to 50 paddlers with the drummer getting them into the rhythm from the center of the boat. In today's smaller boats, sized for18 to 20 paddlers, the drummer, dramatically poised close to the dragon-headed prow, appears to lead the race with his (or her) back to the finish line. While the synchronized paddlers follow the drummer's call, the coxswain guides the course with a steering oar type of tiller and shouts out encouragement (mixed perhaps with a few browbeating expletives?).
Dragon Boat – Tuen Ng – Festival falls on 16 June in 2010.
Races start about 8 am at the Sai Kung waterfront.