On the afternoon of June 23, organized by the Guangzhou Municipal People's government, the 2007 Guangzhou International Dragon Boat Race was held on the Pearl River between the Jiefang Bridge and the Renmin Bridge. The event is to "promote folk culture, support the 2010 Asian Games and build a harmonious Guangzhou city." Provincial and municipal leaders and 150,000 people watched the race.

At 14:30, Executive Vice Mayor Wu Yimin announced the beginning of the finals and sent the starting signal by beating a gong. 110 dragon boats-- 24 tradition dragon boats, 50 standard dragon boats, 24 colorful dragon boats and 12 other dragon boats, competed in the race. along the banks some people performed dragon dance accompanied by folk music; pigeons flight in the sky. The 8,000 athletes came from the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou's Districts and county level cities and the Nanhai District of Foshan City. This year's event exceeded the previous one in numbers of athletes and dragon boats. The scene is very spectacular.

Dragon boat racing is a performance event of the upcoming 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Since Guangzhou achieved the 2010 Asian Games bid, dragon boat racing has officially become a competition event of the Games. At the opening ceremony, dragon boats drew enthusiastic applause from the audience. Colorful banners hanging on the boats especially added highlights to the race.

Editor: Donald