History of the Dragon Boat

A couple of weeks ago in New York, the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival took place. My manager told me about them, and it interested me. It turns out that the Dragon Boats are more complex than just any boat. They can weigh anywhere from 650 to 800 pounds where a canoe can weigh anywhere between 65 to 90 pounds. Also, the dragon boat can be recognized by its oval shaped, slim curved dragon tail in the back and a dragon head in the front.  It can be built from either wood or fiber glass. The wood version tends to be made in Taiwan. The fiberglass versions tend to be made in China and Hong Kong and are a lot faster.

Now that you know a few specs about the dragon boats, let me tell you the story as to how it the dragon boat racing came to be. Racing originated about 2500 years ago, when the poet, Qu Yuan, jumped into the Milou River to commit suicide. This act was Qu Yuan’s way of protesting. Qu Yuan’s follower’s actually raced to the spot where he jumped and threw sticky rice so that the fish wouldn’t each his body.

And thus, dragon boat racing was born. So the next time you see a dragon boat, you will be proud to know how they came to be and all of the interesting fact about them.