Development of Dragon Boat Race

As a water sport, dragon boat race has experienced three basic forms: utilitarian, commemorative and competitive.

The utilitarian dragon boat race refers to the dragon boat race in the initial stage, which is roughly in the pre-Qin period in terms of time. In primitive times, our ancestors fished in the water and competed in crossing the river, especially in fighting for their lives and saving lives and water in floods.

The commemorative dragon boat race was formed in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties and continues to this day. Local Customs of Wu People in the Early Zhou Dynasty is the earliest document to record the dragon boat race on the Dragon Boat Festival, which shows that "dragon boat race" has become a common practice in the Three Kingdoms period. Dragon Boat Race is the earliest document commemorating Qu Yuan, and it is the information left by Wu Jun, Tang Daizong Valley and Wei Zhi in Liang Dynasty. Among them, Wei Zhi wrote in A Record: "Qu Yuan visited the sun in May and went to Miluo. The natives chased him to Dongting, and the boat on the lake was too small to get help. He sang, "How can I cross the lake?" Therefore, it is the drama of a racing car to come back from fighting drums and go to the pavilion in the race, which has been passed down from generation to generation. Its cars are fast, songs are loud, land and water, audiences are like clouds, and counties are straight. Since then, the dragon boat race has been unified on the cohesive theme of "commemorating Qu Yuan".

The competitive dragon boat race was formed in 1970s and 1990s, and its development can be traced back to the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Invitational Tournament held in 1976. Since then, dragon boat racing has become a modern sport, and the craze has swept over more than 30 countries around the world. Internationally, dragon boat is basically a competitive sport. From 65438 to 0980, the dragon boat race was included in the national sports competition in China, and the "Qu Yuan Cup" dragon boat race was held every year. 1991June 16 (the fifth day of the fifth lunar month), the first international dragon boat festival was held in Yueyang, China, Qu Yuan's second hometown. Holding the "Dragon Head Festival" before the competition not only retains the traditional ceremony, but also injects new modern factors. The "dragon head" was carried into Quzi Temple. After the athletes painted the dragon head red (tied with a red ribbon), the priest read out the sacrificial ceremony and "lit up" the dragon head. Then, all the people who participated in the Dragon Boat Festival bowed three times, carried the dragon head to the Miluo River and hurried to the dragon boat race. More than 600,000 people participated in competitions, fairs and parties. Later, Miluo City, Hunan Province conveniently held the International Dragon Boat Festival on the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Dragon boats vary in size and the number of spokes. Generally, it is long and narrow, with a headdress faucet and a dragon tail at the stern. The colors of the faucet are red, black and gray, which are similar to the head of the dragon lantern and have different postures. Generally, it is wood carving and painting (also made of paper or yarn). The dragon tail is mostly carved from whole wood and scales. In addition to the dragon head and tail, the dragon boat is decorated with gongs and drums, flags or hull paintings. The ancient dragon boat is also gorgeous, such as the Dragon Pool Tournament, in which the dragon boat's dragon head is tall, huge, beautifully carved, the dragon tail is high and curly, and the dragon body has several layers of pavilions with double eaves. If it is realistic, it can prove the beauty of ancient dragon boats. In some areas, dragon boats still have ancient customs.

The size of dragon boats varies from place to place. For example, the dragon boat in Huangpu and its suburbs in Guangzhou is 33 meters long, with about 80 people on the road 100. Nanning Dragon Boat is more than 20 meters long, and each boat has about 50 or 60 people. Long boat in Miluo City, Hunan Province 16-22 meters, 24-48 people holding hands. Fujian Fuzhou Dragon Boat 18m long, 32 people holding hands. The competition is to set sail at the same time within a specified distance, and decide the ranking in turn when reaching the finish line. The dragon boat races of all ethnic groups in China are slightly different.

Dragon boat races of Han nationality are mostly held on the Dragon Boat Festival every year. The captain is generally 20-30 meters, and each ship has about 30 sailors. Miao people hold the Dragon Boat Festival from May 24th to 27th every year. It is about 20m long and 1m wide. It is made up of three straight and thick Chinese fir trees, which are dug into grooves and tied together. There is a mother ship in the middle and sub-ships on both sides. There are 38 sailors on each ship, with an elder as the drummer and a child disguised as a woman as the drummer. In the competition, as soon as the guns were heard, the sailors paddled along with the sound of gongs and drums.

The dragon boat race of the Dai nationality was held in the "Water Splashing Festival" in June and July of the Dai calendar (around Tomb-Sweeping Day 10). Each ship has 600 sailors, 4 helmsmen and 4 guides. During the competition, one person beat the gong to command, and the sailors paddled forward according to the rhythm of the gong. There are also women involved in this activity.

Miao people hold a dragon boat race on the Dragon Boat Festival from May 24 to 27 every year to celebrate the success of transplanting rice in the dragon boat race and wish a bumper harvest. It is about 20m long and 1m wide. It is made of three straight and thick Chinese fir trees, which are dug into grooves and tied together. Each ship has 38 sailors, one of whom is a drummer and the other is a drummer. In the competition, as soon as the guns were heard, the sailors paddled along with the sound of gongs and drums.

Regarding the formal dragon boat race, the poem Dragon Boat Race by Zhang Jianfeng, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, vividly describes the magnificent scenery of dragon boat race. The dragon boat under the command of the red flag of the war drum flies and falls like a flying sword, and the war drum thunders; The finish line is marked with colorful poles; The dragon boat is approaching the target quickly. Modern dragon boat races are basically the same, but the rules are a little stricter. International dragon boat races have appeared at home and abroad, attracting athletes from all over the world. Tongren city (Bijiang District) has a long history and has become a representative national cultural symbol. In 2009, tongren city (now Bijiang District) was awarded the "Hometown of Traditional Dragon Boat in China", and in 20 1 1 year, Tongren Dragon Boat Race was included in the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage as a traditional sport.

Located in Ming Paradise, the Dragon Boat Base is picturesque, which not only shows the landscape charm of Jinjiang Scenic Area, but also serves as a carrier to show the local dragon boat culture, and inherits the dragon boat culture with theme activities such as "Dragon Boat Festival Experience and Dragon Boat Festival Health Culture" to attract tourists and create new tourism experience projects. Visitors can experience the fun of the Dragon Boat Festival here at any time, and take part in the Dragon Boat Festival activities with strong local characteristics, such as making zongzi, weaving colored ropes, Dragon Boat Festival, dragon boat rowing, Dragon Boat Festival water splashing and so on.

Over the years, during the Dragon Boat Festival, Daming Border Town Scenic Area has held many large-scale national dragon boat races, such as China Dragon Boat Race and China Dragon Boat Open. In addition, the annual Tongren Dragon Boat Festival also has a rich mass base. During the annual competition, dragon boat lovers from all over the country will come to Daming Border Town to watch the dragon boat race.

Location of Dragon Boat Base: tongren city, Guizhou (Bijiang District). Daming border town scenic spot.

Arrival route:

1. Daming Border Town Scenic Area is located in Bijiang District (Crystal Pavilion), tongren city City, Guizhou Province, 3 kilometers away from tongren city Railway Station, 2.5 kilometers away from Tongren expressway Exit (South), 20 kilometers away from Tongren Phoenix Airport and 50 kilometers away from Hunan Fenghuang Ancient City (Expressway). It is very convenient to reach the scenic area.

2. Bus route: There is a sightseeing line 1 in Tongren City, which goes directly to Daming Border Town Scenic Area (fare 1.5 yuan).