Dawson and our friend Yuanmin scored us "tickets." I use the term "tickets" in the loosest form possible. When we arrived our seats were basically every man for himself and there were a lot of people. I am talking about a lot of people even for China! The first half hour were so bad that we were considering going back home.
After scaling a makeshift wall and walking around like we owned the place, things got much better. Dawson and I were interviewed by a TV crew. (Of course we were not as popular as baby Schafer!) We met several of the foreign racers including a family from San Diego. I chatted with the Australian/Chinese team for quite a while during boat loading. It was a great morning to spend with friends!
(Australia/China Dragon Boat Team)
(Good friends that made it more enjoyable!)
The Dragon Boat Festival started as a memorial to Chinese poet Chu Yuan who drowned in 277BC. Traditionally, people throw rice into the waters so that the fish will eat the rice instead of the poet! Dragon Boat are long boats that race to the sound of a drumbeat. Each boat contains one person to steer, about 20 rowers, and one drummer. It is a real art to make the boat as I saw recently on CCTV.
And that my friends is Dragon Boat Festival...
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