Around the Dragon Boat Festival each year, various parts of Guangdong hold dragon boat racing folk activities in diverse and distinctive forms. Dragon boat racing has thus become one of the traditional intangible cultural heritage projects with the broadest public participation in Guangdong. As the Dragon Boat Festival approaches, dragon boat launching and training activities have been rolled out across Guangdong, with dragon boat paddlers in various places gearing up for the upcoming races.

A few days ago, a dragon boat launching ceremony was held at Zhengyawan in Jiaolian Community, Wanjiang, Dongguan. More than a dozen paddlers, following traditional customs, fully reenacted the rituals of the Dongguan water town, including "inviting the dragon head, launching the dragon boat, washing the dragon boat, and dotting the eyes of the dragon," attracting many citizens and tourists to visit.

In Diejiao Village, Nanhai, Foshan, team members are also busy training ahead of dragon boat races. Several dragon boats about 25 meters long take turns on a river channel about 6 meters wide. Accompanied by drumbeats and the shouts of the paddlers, the dragon boats quickly complete actions such as acceleration, turning, and drifting in the narrow and winding river channel, attracting many citizens to watch.

Liu Zhifeng, leader of the Dongsheng East Dragon Boat Team: **Time hones the coordination among team members; only by paddling in unison with one heart can the dragon boat be rowed well.