Dragon boat or Tuen Ng Festival, is a great event held annually in Hong Kong. International teams specifically visit Hong Kong for participating in this championship. The beats of drums, music, and sounds of people cheering up create a pleasant atmosphere. Thousands of spectators stand around the shore to support different teams participating in the competition. It’s not just a simple competition, rather the teams participating in it start practicing in advance and take the competition very seriously. When people used to be so much excited for this dragon boat race Hong Kong, this event has been cancelled in 2020 due to Corona Virus. Keeping the people’s health in mind and implementing social distancing, it was decided not to organize any race this year. So, people are choosing some alternatives to celebrate the festival with equal fun. But before discussing the ways to celebrate the day, let’s find the reason why and how this day is celebrated with such a passion and thrill. What’s the history? The dragon boat or Tuen Ng Festival is a holiday in Hong Kong that falls on the 5th day of 5th lunar month i.e. 25 June. This colorful festival has been originated from a tragedy that occurred 2,000 years ago. The festival is related to the death of a Chinese hero named Qu Yuan. He was the person who fought against the corrupt rules and got himself drowned in a river called Mi Lo River. That moment, the people of town started beating drums and put zongzi (rice dumplings) into the water to prevent his body being eaten by fishes. The festival has been celebrated by Chinese people all around the world in his memory. Even the people who can’t attend this dragon boat race, dip their hands in water or go for swimming. How Dragon Boat Festival is Celebrated? The colorful and decorated dragon boats mark the uniqueness of Tuen Ng Festival. In dragon boat festival, canoes with more than 20 people in it, enter various levels of competitions against each other. The two most popular events in Hong Kong are the races of CCB Hong Kong international race and Stanley dragon boat race. These are even televised and people from the region and outside come to view the amazing dragon boat race. The CCB Hong Kong international dragon boat race is held at Central Harbourfront where thousands of people take part. There are local teams of Hong Kong that compete against the teams from the other regions of world. The boats run at the beat of drums; thousands of fans support the players while standing at the shoreline. Music is played to keep everyone entertained and adds to the wonderful time that everyone is going through. The Stanley race is carried out a few days before the international race. It holds the teams of locals and expats who represents the local organizations such as government corporations, universities, international companies, etc. Most of the people take this chance as a time to party at beach site and enjoy the splendid race. Apart from the Dragon boat race at Stanley, some small level competition is also held in other locations such as Discovery Bay, Sai Kung, Tai O, Cheung Chau and more. These races are done on local levels where only people from a town or region takes the part. How to celebrate Dragon boat festival in 2020? Due to the situation of Covid-19, everyone is feeling morally low, and the safety is a priority. Even if the decision of cancelling the festival was sad, we know it was important. It is stated that there should be something to do to keep the community engaged and motivated. Thus, Virtual Dragon Boat Challenge was introduced in which people who are familiar with the dragon boat festival, could participate. So, if you are missing the fun of dragon boat festival Hong Kong, then you can enjoy through online apps and websites. Moreover, on this day, people used to eat meat and rice dumplings as a part of celebration. Mint & Basil in Sai Wan Ho is a restaurant near to Victoria Harbor. Every year people used to gather at this place after or before the event to enjoy the mouth-watering cuisines. Although, it is not possible to enjoy Tuen Ng Festival this year, but at least we can have the food at this place.
Those who were excited to view the race live for the first time, will have to wait for the circumstances to be normal. Meanwhile, participate in virtual races, and eat your favorite food on this day.
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November 2021
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