It’s Dragon Boat Race time! West London has the genteel, Pimms-flavoured Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, but east London has the bigger, noisier, Tsingtao beer-scented racing event. This Sunday 28 June, up to 40 teams will do battle for four different trophies, and there’s live entertainment, a lot to eat and an interesting location all rolled into this free family-friendly event.
The Dragon Boat Festival is a major event in the Chinese calendar, traditionally marking the start of the wet season when farmers start their planting. The dragon is a symbol of water, cloud and rain, so it’s important to honour it, to ensure good crops. Worship means dragon boat races and making a big deal of this mythical creature, to please it and show some love.
The Dragon Boat Festival also honours the former statesman and poet Qu Yuan who was exiled from his kingdom for campaigning for political reform and peace between warring realms. On hearing his kingdom had been invaded, he drowned himself in a river. His supporters took to their boats, to scare fish and predators away from Qu Yuan’s body. They also dropped rice parcels into the water, for Qu Yuan to take to the afterlife and appease the river spirits. You may see pyramid-shaped bundles of rice wrapped in bamboo leaves; these parcels are a major feature of Dragon Boat Race time—the glutinous sticky rice and lentil or meat fillings are delicious but heavy going if you’re just after a snack.
The programme starts at noon and goes on to early evening; bring sunscreen, hats and picnic blankets if you’re planning a long day as previous experience recalls there is not a lot of cover or picnic tables. Competitors range from rowing clubs to corporate teams to amateur groups; such a mix of skills and experience means there is something for everybody in the races. The Dragon Boat Race takes place at the London Regatta Centre, opposite London City Airport—so if your little ones lose interest in the boats, they can watch planes take off and land very close by. Head to Royal Albert on the DLR to arrive right at the festival site, and check the programme to be sure you don’t miss the lion dances, live music and martial arts displays.
The Dragon Boat Race Festival is a great day out, featuring so many different things, it would be hard not to find anything you like about it. It’s free, gives insight into Chinese culture and traditions and is a proper festival with competitions, food, entertainment and proper stewarding (should you need it). Take your little dragons to honour the big dragons, and make it part of your east London summer of fun.
For more information, see the website of the London Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival 2015.
