Traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Race starts in Guizhou, marks festival

<img src='https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-05-31/Traditional-Chinese-Dragon-Boat-Race-starts-in-Guizhou-marks-festival-1DOPv4m0lUY/img/01496064352440ca8f3165a627e73a51/01496064352440ca8f3165a627e73a51.png' alt='Teams compete at the Traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Race in Tongren, southwest China's Guizhou Province, May 30, 2025. /tongren.gov.cn'

This year’s Traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Race got underway in Tongren, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, on Friday, one day ahead of the annual Dragon Boat Festival.

A total of 60 teams from around the country made the trip to participate in the competitions featuring four events – men’s and women’s traditional style and men’s and women’s freestyle. The course is a straight 500 meters long for all events.

The results of the preliminary rounds sent 24 teams into Saturday’s early semifinals, with the championship finals set for later in the day.