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Dragon boats in Lugang
Duanwujie, often called Dragon Boat Festival in English, is celebrated in
Chinese communities around the world. For some very interesting
information on this festival, I suggest you look here;
http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/dragon_e/dragon.htm
As that site says, Duanwujie "is highlighted by the dragon boat races, in
which competing teams drive their boats forward rowing to the rhythm of pounding
drums."
While the races were cancelled this year in many locations in Taiwan due to
worries about SARS, the ones in Lugang went ahead.
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Boat awaiting crew
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Line of crew registering
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A boat crew walking onto the plastic pontoon where the boats were moored and the judges had their podium
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Smiling coxswain
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Lifeguards (while we were there they didn't have a chance to practise their skills, luckily)
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The drummer's stick is raised for the first stroke, the oars raised together
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The stick falls, the oars bite the water. I am told that this crew were not very well coordinated; they impressed me, though.
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Neck and neck
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Having been first to seize the banner from a buoy along the river, the cox hands it to the judges, making his boat the winner of this race
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Waving cox
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Dog in a bag
This dog belonged to one of the competitors' relatives. It seemed perfectly happy. I suppose that at least this position kept it out of harm's way. |
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After watching several races, we went into Lugang town itself, where we visited
the Tianhou temple.
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