The Dragon Boat Festival, falling on June 3 this year, is just around the corner. To celebrate this festival passed down over 2000 years ago, the local usually has Zongzi (glutinous rice dumpling), drinks realgar wine and joins the dragon boat racing. 

Talking of dragon boat, do you know that Yanbu village, Dali Town in Foshan is home to the oldest one across China? It is said it was built in 1432. The 36.8-meter boat (excluding head and tail) has 68 seats and weighs about 4 tons.  

The boat has been preserved under water for a long time. May 24 saw its great unveiling ceremony, which is included as Provincial Intangible Cultural Heritage. The benediction, pronounced by Shao Juxi, provincial intangible cultural inheritor, marked the beginning of the ritual.  

All villagers worked together to pull out water hyacinth in the river, bail water out of the boat and clean away sludge on it. After one hour’s effort, the old dragon boat was eventually tugged out in the rousing ovation. 

The boat, witnessing all the ups and downs of Dali Town in the past few centuries, now serves as an iconic symbol of local culture and tradition. It has also been promoted to the younger generations through celebration and history introduction in campus. 

Photo by Song Zishan  

Author | Ivy 

Revisor | Eleanor, Eddie 

Photo | Foshan News