Dragon boat races held in Shanghai, Greater Bay Area to usher in Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon boat races were held in China's Shanghai and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area over the weekend to usher in the Dragon Boat Festival.

Also known as the Duanwu Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, it falls on May 31.

The 21st Shanghai Suzhou Creek Dragon Boat Invitational Tournament concluded on Sunday, exactly one week before the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

A total of 58 dragon boat teams both from home and abroad paddled through the Suzhou Creek's skyscraper-lined waters during the two-day event, marking a new high in the number of participating foreign countries and offering a fresh look at the Chinese culture through the event.

A record 1,078 participants from countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Australia and Malaysia competed in five categories on the Suzhou Creek's downtown stretch flanked by high-rises and parks. The event, first held in 2001, blended traditional sport with modern cityscapes as expatriates and locals paddled side by side.

"We are fascinated by the culture of the Dragon Boat Festival, and I really appreciate the chance to experience the dragon boat race. We want to have a deeper understanding of the Chinese culture," said An De Rademaeker, a member of the Benelux International Dragons Team composed of interns from Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourgian firms in Shanghai.

The 2025 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Maozhou River dragon boat race kicked off on Saturday as Guangdong Province's first provincial-level dragon boat contest this year.

Twenty-four teams raced in men's, women's and Shenzhen-specific divisions along the 500-meter Maozhou River course in the city's Bao'an District, cheered by crowds lining the banks.

The Xinhui Hongdatang Chenpi Dragon Boat Team from Jiangmen, a city in Guangdong, the Hong Kong Women's Team and Yanluo Tangxia Yong Jiangxia Huangshi Team claimed top honors after two hours of intense competition.

"We have won the championship for the third time! First of all, I would like to thank the team members for their hard work and dedication, because the overall level of this competition has improved even more than before," said Liao Changliang, head of Xinhui Hongdatang Chenpi Dragon Boat Team.

"Through this race, we want to show our top-notch competition level. Besides, we also hope to bring some intangible cultural heritage experience to the spectators through the integration of culture, tourism and commerce," said Liu Feng, head of Party-mass Service Center of Yanluo sub-district, Bao 'an District.

Dragon boat races held in Shanghai, Greater Bay Area to usher in Dragon Boat Festival

The first phase of the 139th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, closed on Sunday with a record number of overseas buyers, the organizer said.

As of 5 p.m. on Sunday, about 167,000 overseas buyers from 216 countries and regions had attended the offline exhibition, up 5.9 percent from the same period of the previous edition, according to the China Foreign Trade Center.

The turnout, the highest for any first phase of the fair, underscored the resilience and vitality of China's foreign trade, it said.

The first phase of the fair, themed "advancing manufacturing," featured more than 25,000 booths, 740,000 products and over 12,000 exhibitors.

AI smart appliances, drones, new energy vehicles, and precision CNC machine tools were all on display. Spanning intelligent manufacturing, new energy, and high-end equipment, the showcase highlights the innovation capacity and vitality of China's advanced industrial system.

A total of 324 new product launch events were held, providing companies with an effective platform for networking and collaboration.

"We want to expand our relationship, and also bring innovation from here to Germany much faster, or to do European market much faster," said Kevin Klingler, a German purchaser.

This year's fair is being held in three offline phases in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, and will run through May 5. The second phase, scheduled from April 23 to 27, will focus on "quality home life," including building materials, furniture, household products, gifts and decorations.

Established in 1957, the Canton Fair takes place twice a year in Guangzhou. It is the longest-running of several comprehensive international trade events in China, and it has been hailed as the barometer of China's foreign trade.

Int'l buyers hit record for 1st phase of China's Canton Fair