Dragon boat or “dragonboat” refers to a very long and narrow human-powered boat used in the team paddling sport of dragon boat racing.
Originated in China in pre-Christian times, the racing of dragon boats is among mankind’s oldest organized competitions, like running, horse racing and marksmanship. In order to elebrate the the Duanwu Jie festival, which is on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, dragon boat competition has taken place annually for more than 20 centuries as part of folk ritual. In the city of Guangzhou, the race on the Pearl River is an important part of the Duanwu Jie festival observation.
In 1976, the sport emerged in modern times as an international “sport” in Hong Kong. Nowadays, Dragon Boat Racing is observed and celebrated not only in China, but also in many other areas of east Asia with significant populations of ethnic Chinese living there, such as in Singapore and Malaysia. So are the s held in these areas.
For competition events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails. At other times the decorative regalia is usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for training purposes. In some areas of China, the boats are raced without dragon adornments.