2023-06-24 09:50:29
China News Agency, Hong Kong, June 24 (Reporter Liu Dawei) After four years, the “Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Invitational Race” kicked off on the 24th at the waterfront of Tsim Sha Tsui. During the two consecutive days of competition, more than 160 teams and nearly 4,000 athletes from home and abroad will compete fiercely in Victoria Harbour.
This invitational race is organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and co-organized by the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Association of China. At the opening ceremony, Chairman of the HKTB, Peng Yaojia, said in his speech that he looks forward to showing the important traditional Chinese custom of dragon boat racing to the world through this invitational competition, and at the same time promotes exchanges between Hong Kong and mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, so as to build a tourism brand in the Greater Bay Area , to enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international tourism center city in the region.
According to reports, there are a total of 17 competitions in this year’s invitational tournament. Among them, the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Championship” invited strong teams from 9 mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area and Macau to compete with local teams from Hong Kong. In the new “Hong Kong-Macau Cup” dragon boat race held jointly with Macau, in addition to teams from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, there are also 3 teams from Thailand, the Philippines and Australia.
In order to encourage the participation of dragon boat teams from home and abroad, this year’s invitational competition will set up a bonus system for the first time. The team that wins the championship in the five competitions of the “International Championship”, “International Open Gold Cup”, “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area Championship”, “Hong Kong Championship” and “Hong Kong-Macau Cup” dragon boat race will receive a reward of US$10,000.
The first game starts at 8:00 am on the 24th. With the firing of the starting gun, the 8 dragon boats cut through the waves like flying arrows. Amidst the knocking sound of the bow drummer, the athletes paddled hard, splashing waves.
Watching the scene of “the middle current hits the water, and the boat flies in the waves”, the citizens watching the battle on the shore couldn’t help cheering for the players. The sound of cheering, shouting, and drumming are intertwined, adding to the lively atmosphere of the game. As the dragon boat rushed to the finish line, the cheers on the shore became more and more one after another. Although there were showers and gusts in the weather forecast that day, it did not affect the enthusiasm of the players and spectators at all.
Citizen Miss Zhang brought her daughter here. She told a reporter from China News Agency that this was the first time for her daughter to watch a “dragon boat race” (dragon boat race). The child just learned about the Dragon Boat Festival from school not long ago, so I took her to experience it on the spot.
There are 39 games on the first day of the competition, and the schedule is very tight. The reporter observed that the total length of the track used for the competition is 500 meters, and each game takes about 3 minutes.
China Mobile International Limited and China Mobile Hong Kong Limited Dragon Boat Team participated in the “Open Championship” that day. The captain of the team, Wang Peibin, told a reporter from China News Agency that the team members have been preparing for the competition for nearly two months. The most important thing in the game is “unity”. As long as the players are united, I believe that the ideal results will be achieved in the end. (over)
1687611494
#years #Hong #Kong #International #Dragon #Boat #Invitational #Race #returns #Victoria #HarborChinanews.com