An ancient Chinese scholar and much-loved poet in the ancient state of Chu, Qu Yuan is the subject of the Dragon Boat Festival (also called Duanwu Jie), an annual celebration that marks his life and death. As a protest against governmental corruption, Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo River. The local people quickly took to their boats, hoping to rescue him or at least recover his body. The one that has survived is this folklore. To ward off evil spirits and prevent fish from eating his corpse, they threw rice dumplings into the sea. The modern-day dragon boat festivals continue these customs by having participants race dragon boats and eating zongzi, or rice dumplings. Plus, it's really entertaining. I spent a day traveling to Guangzhou via high-speed rail so I could get a better grasp of the city.
Although it is only two hours by driving from my home in Xiaolan, the journey took me a considerable amount of time. I didn’t have a car at this time. There were a lot of people trying to get to the same place and see the same thing that I wanted to see because it was a national holiday, so all the public transportation options were packed. Motorbikes, private vehicles, electric buses, and bicycles all blend together to make the crowds look and feel even more chaotic as people rush to board and disembark from the buses. An important bus stop in town, located on a tiny road cut off in front of the Dasin mall in the center of town, is where the masses congregate. It took thirty minutes to reach the high-speed train station, an hour to reach the Guangzhou South station, and an additional hour to reach the Liwan neighborhood of Guangzhou by the metro.
Keep in mind, I was a lone traveler with very little Chinese language skills. You can't really understand anything by reading about it; you have to see it with your own eyes. This is a reoccurring theme in life that I have come to embrace. From the little information I have gathered about the day's traditions online, I have come to appreciate this.
Incredibly rich in tradition, history, and symbolic meaning, dragon boats are a sight to behold. The long and narrow shape is a deliberate design choice meant to evoke images of dragons. The paddles are designed to resemble the animal's claws, and it comes with a head and a tail. Compared to their more conventional forebears, many contemporary boats are built from much lighter materials. Furthermore, the increased forward and backward mobility of modern boats has resulted in an increase in the number of heads on either end, further blurring the line between what is the bow and stern.
There were a handful of little boats, and there were scarcely more than a handful of paddlers on each. There were as many as a hundred people packed into some of these enormous things. A few individuals were pounding on a huge drum in the center of the boat to provide rhythmic beats, but most of the team was just a cog in the wheel, an integral part of the machine that drove the boats ahead with coordinated strokes of the paddles. A lot like the rhythms you hear in marching bands and military parades performed on base drums: "left, right, left." But along with the low-pitched sounds comes the higher-pitched gong tone, which sounds a lot like cowbell (insert... I need more cowbell, baby!).
At Liwan's heart is a vast park. It's usually bustling with locals doing anything from ping pong to tai chi, even when no event is happening. On this specific day, the most astounding thing to me was the sheer volume of people playing hacky sack in smaller and smaller groups. These hacky sacks were identical to the ones used on the Newport Beach boardwalk, with the exception that the former featured feathers and the later did not.
In Guangzhou's LIwan neighborhood, you can witness traditional canals winding through the landscape. Older residences and newer, gentrified districts coexist along these canals; the latter provide better shopping, dining, and walking options. As the sun sets, this area of the city becomes even more breathtaking. The lake at the center of the region where all the teams had gathered is linked to a network of small outlets that wind their way over the land. Now is the time for the teams to show off their abilities and team spirit.
A medium-sized boat with paddlers desperately pounding on the water as they squeezed into a relatively tight channel was the first image that came to mind. At the fork in the road, the boat swung ever-so-slightly to the left; clearly, vessels of this size do not flip a coin. However, the pounding accelerated thrice before vanishing from sight. Team members were given the directive to swiftly slow down the boat by pulling on the paddles. They were told to get to their feet, turn around 180 degrees, sit down, and then paddle backwards, this time following the right side of the canal, as soon as the boat stopped.
Observing the level of coordination and quick thinking needed to pull off this maneuver was mind-blowing. As the boat regained its speed, the drum beat accelerated with each hit, building from a slow beginning. What shocked me the most was the impression it gave me. It was just astounding!
There may be moments when these canals are slightly congested with traffic. However, this is almost always done intentionally. It's a fantastic opportunity for spectators to see the boats in action and root for their favorite teams. There was paddling, of course, but there were also teams that would, with some success, bounce up and down to try to overwhelm the other boats with waves. Some folks even end up swimming after going overboard; it's fun to watch.
I made it through the raucous event unscathed and even gained a better
understanding of the spectacle just by seeing it with my own eyes, despite the
firecrackers, drumbeats, traditional music, costumes, and the many families
there all trying to catch a glimpse of it themselves.