Dragon boat race in Luxembourg offer spectators splash of Chinese culture

Local people in Luxembourg were given a splash of Chinese culture as a series of traditional dragon boat races were held along the Moselle River in the Remich commune on Sunday, drawing a number of teams and visitors from several countries to join in the festivities.

The event came ahead of the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanwu Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday to commemorate the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan. Celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the festival will this year fall on June 19.

The fourth Luxembourg International Dragon Boat Festival saw a bumper entry of 17 teams from different countries competing in the races, attracting tens of thousands of spectators from Luxembourg and neighboring countries.

Aside from the racing on the river, the event also included more Chinese elements to keep attendees well entertained, including traditional music performances and vibrant dragon and lion dances which delighted the crowds.

Officials say the festival further demonstrates the strong ties which exist between Luxembourg and China.

"We have of course economic relationships, but beyond these economic relationships, it's important also to have cultural [and] sporting cooperation, and the dragon [boat] festival is a good occasion to underline this," said Leon Gloden, Luxembourg's Minister for Home Affairs.

Others taking part in the event pointed to the festive atmosphere and say that dragon boat racing embodies the spirit of teamwork.

"[It's] not about the individual, but about everybody else. I think that's the spirit that we try and carry forward and that's what the history and the tradition is all about. And we're happy to be part of it," said one participant.

Dragon boat race in Luxembourg offer spectators splash of Chinese culture

Chinese meteorologists have deployed a swarm of drones for the first time to conduct three-dimensional observations throughout the entire passage of Typhoon Noul, providing new data to improve forecasting and disaster response.

The experiment began on Friday at the China Meteorological Administration's field research base for low-altitude weather observation in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, as meteorological researchers tracked Noul, the year's 12th typhoon.

Unlike a single drone, the drone swarm consists of multiple unmanned aircraft operating in coordination to simultaneously collect meteorological data at different locations and altitudes.

The drones continuously measured key low-altitude atmospheric conditions before, during and after the typhoon, including temperature, humidity, wind fields and turbulence. Researchers also monitored flight performance data to assess the operational limits of drones under extreme weather conditions.

The administration said the technology enables high-density, three-dimensional sampling of the lower atmosphere, helping fill gaps in offshore low-altitude observations. The data are expected to improve typhoon monitoring and forecasting while supporting the safe operation of drones in severe weather.

Noul landed near the coastal town of Pinghai in Huidong County, Huizhou City, at around 03:50 on Sunday, packing maximum sustained winds of 162 kilometers per hour.

It waned to a severe tropical storm and is tracking northward toward neighboring Hunan Province in central China.

Drone swarm deployed for full typhoon observation