2026 Macao Int'l Dragon Boat Races kick off with over 180 teams

The 2026 SJM Macao International Dragon Boat Races kicked off Saturday at Nam Van Lake Nautical Center in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), drawing more than 180 teams for the three‑day event.

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duanwu Festival, commemorates poet Qu Yuan of the Warring States era. Celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, it falls on June 19 this year.

The races are divided into three stages. The opening day featured fierce competition among local teams, while Sunday will host standard dragon boat events. A total of 137 local squads from Macao institutions and organizations are competing, with athletes demonstrating strong skills and teamwork.

"This sport really embodies team spirit. Dragon boat racing is a traditional Chinese sport, so we all want to pass down this Chinese traditional culture here in Macao," said a member with the Grand Trust Dragon Boat Team.

The races also drew foreign residents, including Brazilian participant Oliveira in Macao.

"When I moved to China and I saw that (dragon boat racing) is really connected to the culture, or the history, the cultural thing, it really, really amazed me and I really wanted to try. And then, of course, the team spirit, the team together, I really enjoyed that too," said Oliveira.

On June 19, two additional races, the Macao International Invitation Standard Dragon Boat Race and the Macao University Student Invitation Standard Dragon Boat Race, will take place. Teams from countries and regions, including the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore, will compete alongside local Macao teams.

"Dragon boat racing during the Dragon Boat Festival has a long history in Macao. Dragon boat racing combines traditional Chinese culture with competitive sports. We hope that through this international event, residents and tourists can better understand Macao's unique cityscape, its unique urban development vitality and the traditional charm of dragon boat racing as an intangible cultural heritage," said Cheang Kai Meng, vice president of the Sports Bureau of Macao SAR Government.

2026 Macao Int'l Dragon Boat Races kick off with over 180 teams

By leveraging the Shanghai Science and Technology Film City, Shanghai is forging a full-chain AI film ecosystem that covers computing power, data, models, and application scenarios, thus driving the integrated development of "film plus technology."

At a workshop during this year's Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), staff showed how a green screen and virtual studio can create a video of someone flying on a sword in only 10 minutes, a process that once took hours or even days.

"Our new AI workflow can bypass the tedious process of creating 3D assets. We only need a simple white model to position the actor within the scene. Then, AI takes care of everything, including integration of lights and shadows, computer-generated visual effects, and traditional manual production, dramatically improving efficiency," said Wang Yi, marketing director of a Shanghai-based virtual production technology company.

Technological innovation, continuous upgrades, and the pursuit of quality have become industry standards for filmmakers and television producers.

"What we're working on now is using a full AI workflow to adapt a classic black-and-white movie into a short drama series of 60 episodes, each about two to three minutes long. With the rapid improvement of large language model capabilities, on the production side, we can complete a short drama project of over 100 minutes in just about two months," said Yu Xin, a person in charge of a company based at the Shanghai Science and Technology Film City AI Creation Ecosystem Center.

Located in Songjiang District, the Shanghai Science and Technology Film City houses over 8,000 film and TV enterprises, forming a full-chain AI ecosystem that covers computing power, data, models, and application scenarios.

"The AI Creation Ecosystem Center has attracted more than 50 companies over the past year and secured over 50 million yuan in commercial commissions. Moving forward, we will provide support not only in terms of computing power and funding but also through talent-related policies," said Zhao Huiying, director of the Songjiang District Culture and Tourism Bureau.

Shanghai drives 'film plus technology' with AI ecosystem