Brazilian cities celebrate Dragon Boat Festival with vibrant boating races

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Brazilian cities celebrate Dragon Boat Festival with vibrant boating races

2026-06-20 16:34 Last Updated At：06-21 15:34

Dragon boat-themed cultural events have been held in Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, which fell on Friday this year.

On Wednesday, Rio de Janeiro hosted its first-ever Dragon Boat Culture Festival, drawing many local residents eager to experience this cherished Chinese tradition.

One of the highlights of the festival was a dragon boat transported all the way from Zigui County in central China's Hubei Province, the hometown of the ancient poet Qu Yuan, to whom the festival is associated.

"The dragon boat race is a collective sport. I learned what teamwork really means -- trust and believing in your teammates. That's what dragon boating taught me," said Reese, a peddler.

On June 14, the third Brazil Overseas Chinese Dragon Boat Alliance Competition took place in Sao Paulo, a few days ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival.

The event drew more than 200 spectators, including members of the local Chinese community and Brazilian residents, as the lively sound of drums filled the air.

Local Brazilian teams also took part. Janette Bauermeister, the drummer for a team, praised the sport's spirit of inclusiveness.

"Dragon boating is something fantastic because it's for everybody. Our oldest peddler on our dragon boat is 84 years old and she's also a breast cancer survivor," said Bauermeister.

Sao Paulo resident Bob shared a similar sentiment while watching his friend compete.

"My friend has been training hard for this, even going to the gym to stay in shape. He really wanted to win. They finished fourth, but I think what matters most is that everyone participated, competed, and had fun together. It was really enjoyable," he said.

Yangtze River Delta reports record foreign trade in Jan-May

China's Yangtze River Delta saw record-high import and export volumes in the first five months of this year, extending consecutive foreign trade growth to 15 months, and demonstrating the strong resilience and vitality of China's economy.

The Yangtze River Delta region, which covers Shanghai Municipality and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, all in east China, is one of China's most economically dynamic, open and innovative areas.

According to data from Chinese customs authorities, the region's total value of imports and exports in the five-month period reached 7.82 trillion yuan (about 1.16 trillion U.S. dollars), up 16.2 percent year on year and accounting for 37.8 percent of the nation's foreign trade total.

Exports amounted to 4.92 trillion yuan, accounting for 41.3 percent of the country's total. Exports of high-end manufacturing products such as ships, integrated circuits, and robots all achieved double-digit growth.

Imports totaled 2.9 trillion yuan during this period. Growing demand for raw materials and high-end components for industrial production supported stable operations in advanced manufacturing.

Foreign trade entities continued to demonstrate strong vitality. In the first five months, private enterprises recorded imports and exports totaling 4.22 trillion yuan, accounting for 54 percent of the Yangtze River Delta's total foreign trade value.

The region's imports and exports with Belt and Road countries increased by 17.5 percent year on year, while the foreign trade total with emerging markets, such as ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa, grew by 25.5 percent, 9.3 percent, and 14 percent, respectively, demonstrating its growing resilience in foreign trade.