The world celebrates the Dragon Boat Festival together, and the charm of Chinese culture overflows

With the arrival of the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, celebrations are being held around the world to welcome the Dragon Boat Festival, one of the four major Chinese festivals. As the first Chinese festival to be included in the United Nations Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the Dragon Boat Festival is not only highly valued in China and the Chinese community, but also attracts more and more people from all over the world to participate and appreciate the profound and vibrant traditional Chinese culture.

In Asia, dragon boat teams from ASEAN countries have joined the Dragon Boat Festival celebrations. At the 2024 China-ASEAN International Dragon Boat Open held in Wuzhou, Guangxi, dragon boat teams from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries competed with the Chinese team, showing their love for dragon boat sports and respect for Chinese culture. During the competition, the players of each team paddled hard, and the dragon boats sped across the river, attracting the attention of many spectators.

In Europe, the 10th British Dragon Boat Festival held at the Salford Aquatic Center in Greater Manchester, England, has become an important event for local people to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival. This largest dragon boat race in Europe has attracted tens of thousands of Chinese and local people to participate. They have experienced the passion and fun of dragon boat racing together, and further promoted the exchange and integration of Chinese and British cultures.

In North America, the 45th Boston Dragon Boat Festival held on the Charles River in Boston, USA, was equally lively. Dragon boat teams from all over the world gathered together to celebrate this traditional festival. The Dragon Boat Festival Organizing Committee provided guests with a variety of colorful cultural experience activities and food on the riverside, allowing participants to feel the charm and diverse integration of Asian culture.

In addition to the dragon boat race, the traditional customs of the Dragon Boat Festival have also been inherited and carried forward around the world. In Seoul, South Korea, foreign students have experienced the ancient custom of washing their hair with calamus water, praying for health and peace. At the Overseas Chinese Farm in Liucheng County, Liuzhou City, Guangxi, local Indonesian and Vietnamese returned overseas Chinese and their families gathered together to make Vietnamese-style long rice dumplings to celebrate the arrival of the Dragon Boat Festival.

In addition, in Heihe, Russia and other places, Chinese and Russian people also participated in activities such as the Dragon Boat Festival Garden Party to experience the charm of Chinese culture together. These activities not only enhanced the friendship between Chinese and foreign people, but also promoted exchanges and integration between different cultures.

With the acceleration of globalization, the spread and exchange of Chinese culture is becoming more and more extensive. As one of the important representatives of Chinese traditional culture, the Dragon Boat Festival is being recognized and accepted by more and more countries and regions. I believe that in the near future, the Dragon Boat Festival will become one of the traditional festivals celebrated worldwide, contributing to the development of world cultural diversity.