Iconic Hong Kong dragon boat races are back in full force as thousands of spectators gather

Thousands gathered Thursday in southern Hong Kong to watch the iconic dragon boat races, a highlight of the annual Chinese Dragon Boat festival.

The dragon boat races were back in full force after years of cancellations, postponements and social-distancing restrictions during the pandemic.

Dragon boat teams in Hong Kong range from 8 to 50 people, depending on the size of the boat. A standard boat in Hong Kong typically has a crew of 20 people who race between about 250-500 meters (820-1640 feet).

The Dragon Boat festival, also known as “Tuen Ng” in Cantonese, is associated with a story of a righteous official in ancient times who drowned himself after falling out of favor with his leader.

According to the lore, villagers rushed out to the river with boats to try and save him, and threw rice dumplings into the water to prevent fish from eating his body and to ward away evil spirits.

Thus the tradition of dragon boating and eating rice dumplings, which are called zongzi in Chinese, was born.