In which year was dragon boat racing included in China's national sports program?

In 1980, dragon boat racing was included in China's national sports events, and the Qu Yuan Cup Dragon Boat Race was held annually; on June 16, 1991 (the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar), the first International Dragon Boat Festival was held in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, China, which is the second hometown of Qu Yuan.

Dragon boat racing, as a water sport, has gone through three basic forms: utilitarian, commemorative and competitive.

Utilitarian dragon boat racing, refers to the beginning of the nascent stage of dragon boat racing, in terms of time, roughly in the pre-Qin. The primitive period of the ancestors, fishing on the water, ferrying water labor, especially in the flooding of the escape, rescue and water fights, competing in the race.

Competitive dragon boat racing, formed in the 1970s to 1990s, its development can be traced back to the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Invitational held in 1976, since then, dragon boat racing has become a modern sports program, the craze swept more than 30 countries around the world. Internationally, dragon boat racing is basically a competitive sport. 1980, dragon boat racing was included in China's national sports events, and the annual "Qu Yuan Cup" Dragon Boat Race was held on June 16, 1991 (the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar) in Yueyang City, Hunan Province, China, the second hometown of Qu Yuan, the first International Dragon Boat Festival was held. Prior to the race, the "Dragon Head Festival" was held, which preserved traditional rituals and injected new modern elements. The "dragon head" was carried into the Qu Zi Ancestral Hall, where the athletes "reddened" the dragon head (draped with a red sash), the officiating priest read out the sacrificial text, and the dragon head was "enlightened" (i.e., lighted). Then, all the participants in the dragon festival bowed three times, the dragon is carried to the Miluo River, running to the Dragon Boat Race. More than 600,000 people participated in the race, fair and festival. Later, Miluo City, Hunan Province, to facilitate the annual Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month Dragon Boat Festival organized by the International Dragon Boat Festival.