Race held in birthplace of Dragon Boat Festival

(ECNS) -- The 2021 Dragon Boat Invitational Race was held at Xujiachong harbor in Zigui county, Central China's Hubei Province on Monday.

A total of 12 teams from five cities in Hubei participated in the race, which included 22-person 500-meter race, 12-person 500-meter race and 22-person 3,000-meter slalom race.

Before the competition, 80 people rowed a giant dragon boat to warm up the race.

Zigui, known as "Hometown of Dragon Boats in China", is also the hometown of the great patriotic poet Qu Yuan (about 340-278 BC).

As one of the birthplaces of dragon boats, the traditional custom of dragon boating during the Dragon Boat Festival in Zigui has been past on for generations.