Day Nine: Chinese Dragon Boat Race

Another great event in Sydney!!! Like I said before I came to Sydney at the right time...during one of its most eventful weekend. It was also Chinese New Year. I was able to catch the last event of its 2-week celebration marathon: Dragon Boat Race.

Some pictures:
Teams resting in their stalls along the Darling Harbour. Most of the teams were made up of employees of local business companies. People signed up to have a workout and as a social event.
My zodiac sign!! There were 12 of these around the harbour. I couldn't get the tiger one as there were a ton of people sitting around to speculate this annual event.

Finishing strong!! They did several rounds of 6-boat racing. Every time there was a guy introducing the teams in English, and then the mike was passed to the president of the local Chinese Association to translate. It worked out very well. Everyone enjoyed it..rather you are there with friends, family, or just by yourself. There is one thing I like about Sydney is that there is always something going on the weekends. There are always some sort of festivities and you can expect a large crowd. It just makes this place very happening and prosperous...it is a good feeling =)

A little history on the tradition of Chinese boat race: The origins of the Dragon Boat festival dated back over 2000 years. Originally it was a religious practice; it is now purely recreational. The Dragon Boat festival commemorates the death of the poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the third century BC as a protest against the corrupted government. The legends are that the local people attempted to rescue him by paddling out with the dragon boats, and beating the drums to scare away the fish so they won't eat his body, and threw rice dumplings into the river to tempt the fish away from their hero. (information taken from http://www.cdba.com.au/dragon/history.php)