The dragon boat race was performed for the first time in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, introducing ancient Chinese culture to the rest of the world.

The ten-minute performance has been displayed between canoe races at the Sea Forest Waterway from August 2 to 7, kicking off the procedure of the dragon boat race entering the Olympic Games.

Origin of the dragon boat race

As a representative of Chinese culture, the dragon boat race is best known and long believed as a traditional practice of the Dragon Boat Festival to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan (340 B.C.-278 B.C.) during the Warring States period of ancient China.

But according to the book "Yuanling Millennium Dragon Boat," the dragon boat originated in what is now Yuanling County, central China's Hunan Province, 5,000 years ago, which is much earlier than the living time of Qu.

It was in the Sui (581-619) and Tang (618–907) Dynasties, paddling the dragon boat became the festival customs practiced on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month every year.

Today, paddling the dragon boat has changed from a memorial event to a race event. As the Chinese migrated to other parts of the world, the dragon boat race has developed in more than 50 countries and regions. And in 2010, it became an official event of the Asian Games.

Difference between competitive and traditional dragon boat races

The competitive dragon boat race is different from the traditional dragon boat race. Traditionally, there are three different paddling postures – paddlers can sit, kneel or stand on the boat. Since 2008, the International Dragon Boat Federation has stipulated paddlers to take the seat posture in all international dragon boat races.

The drummer and the player of gong, a traditional Chinese musical instrument, are the soul of a traditional race team. But the competitive dragon boat race only keeps the drummer in the front of the boat.

In terms of the number of participants, there can be as many as 36 people on a traditional dragon boat, while there are usually 12 or 22 people on a competitive dragon boat. And this time in the Tokyo Olympics, the number of participants is further reduced to 10 on a boat.