The "Dragon Soaring Bay Area • Touring Dongguan" 2024 Greater Bay Area (Dongguan) Dragon Boat Invitational Race and Dragon Boat Carnival will be held on June 22 to 23 at Huayang Lake National Wetland Park in Machong Town, Dongguan City. This event marks the grand finale of Dongguan's annual "Dongguan Dragon Boat Month" celebration.
In addition to the races, the weekend will feature a variety of carnival activities, including a dragon boat parade, a dragon boat tug-of-war, a water-splashing celebration, and the Huayang Lake Music Festival throughout the weekend. Machong Town will also host a "Dragon Rising in Machong" dragon-themed cultural and art exhibition at the Lingnan Water Town Cultural Arts Center.
Over 60 elite dragon boat teams from the 11 cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and around the world will gather in Dongguan to compete.
The invitational race has been upgraded this year, with events divided into different categories, including the Greater Bay Area Open Mixed Group, the Greater Bay Area Village Men's Group (Dragon King Cup), and the International Open Mixed Group. The events will feature 200m straight-line, 500m straight-line, and 3000m circuit races. Machong Town will also host a 500m traditional dragon boat exhibition race.
The event represents the unique identity of the Greater Bay Area, with 32 traditional powerhouse teams from Hong Kong, Macao, and cities across the region like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Zhaoqing competing in the open mixed group.
The event also encompasses a strong international element, with dragon boat enthusiasts from overseas participating in the international open mixed group. These include the "Soaring Dragon Riding the Wind" international team, the Russian Ural International Dragon Boat Team, the British Riding the Waves International Dragon Boat Team, the Belarusian Blacksmith Move Forward International Dragon Boat Team, and the Guangzhou International Dragon Boat Team.
Reporter | Xie Maishi
Photo | Gong Mingyang
Editor | Monica, James
