Chopstick Dreams and Bamboo thoughts

Dragon boat racing is becoming one of the most popular pastime sports for expats in Hong Kong, according to a local news show I was watching days before the annual event. Dragon boat racing appears to be more of a mind/body sport where paddlers train all year in long wooden boats then compete around the end of June. When I first came to Hong Kong and heard of these ‘dragon boats’, I was quite intrigued and very interested to learn more about this favorite sport so popular among foreigners. Needless to say, I became excited to learn that I would be able to see these races in action in the month of June and figure out why this is one of the choice sport among expats. Dragon boating is a very demanding sport I was told by a girl; demanding on your body, your mind and your spirit. When I heard this, I know I need to find out more about the agony of training and team building approach this sport takes.

Excited and spiritually aroused I was to be part of this Hong Kong tradition when my former flatmate and I hoped on the #40 minibus to Stanley to catch a glimpse of and feel the rush of the competitors. To prime my curiosity of this event, I was on the lookout for some information in the local newspapers or flyers that float around Hong Kong. Lucky I was to come across some background information in a local entertainment magazine called BC magazine. According to the words from Jessica Jardine from the article ‘Dragon Boat Tales’, interviewee Ah Fat reveals the roots and tales about Dragon boating in Hong Kong.

Dragon boat racing functioned as a community hub for the families of fishermen, and now the festival is more significant to them, says Ah Fat. But the history and traditions of the races go back over 2000 years to commemorate the memory of Ch’u Yuan’s suicide. According to legend, the local people reacted to Ch’u Yan suicide by protesting against a corrupt ruler. The people rushed out to the river in the fishing boats, splashing water with paddles, beating drums and scattering rice dumplings all in hopes of preventing fish from eating his body (BC Magazine, 14 June 2007).

The hum of excitement and crowds of local and non local people filled the streets in Stanley. I felt a surge of butterflies fly through my system thinking that I would see this exciting event. As we make our way down to the competitor’s area, I look around at the crowds and I am floored at the masses of people that crowd the beach. Bravely, we make our way down to the shore in hopes of gaining a visible spot of the racers. Drenched with water, many of the brightly colored team costumes rush through the sardine packed beach; some who have already raced and some who were just about to race. It was beginning to become very difficult to navigate through the densely packed shoreline to catch a glimpse of the boats and racers. Pushing our way through the spectator lined beach, the dragons appeared. Trudging through the dirty and littered water it was great to view these dragon boats up close and personal. Now at one time, women were not permitted to go anywhere near a dragon boat until about twenty-five years ago. Women were not even allowed to touch the boat or even walk by the head. Even today, many of the large dragon boat teams still won’t allow women on their boats as a woman’s ‘yin’ unbalances the ‘yang’ of the dragon boat, according to Ah Fat.

I’m not sure if it was the rush I felt from the racers or the excitement from the crowds that made me want to be out there that day pushing myself and my team through the sun drenched water. There is just something alluring thinking you are part of a tradition that dates back over two thousand years while making local history. Interesting and mysterious the aura of the dragon boating culture appears to be, it has definitely peaked my interest so much that I am contemplating signing up for a team for the coming year. Uncertain of what kind of team that I want to be part of, mixed or ladies only, I may have the chance to partake in this exhilarating sport. Of course, I’ll be fully prepared and ready to take on the challenge, in body, in mind and in spirit.