zhen yuan gu cheng fei yi long zhou jing du

In ancient times, Zhenyuan belonged to the State of Chu, and Chu customs prevailed. It is said that during the Han Dynasty, the people of Zhenyuan had the custom of holding dragon boat races to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan, and it was very popular in the Song Dynasty. As early as the Ming Dynasty, Zhenyuan had the reputation of "the hometown of dragon boats". The "Guizhou General Records" of the Ming Dynasty recorded: "Zhenyuan Prefecture, Dragon Boat Races on the Dragon Boat Festival, the prefecture is close to the river, and boats are convenient. ... Those who pull the boats first to cross the river will benefit from doing things that year." The custom of people of all ethnic groups praying for peace and safety through Dragon Boat Races on the Dragon Boat Festival has been passed down from generation to generation. The "Zhenyuan Prefecture Records" of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty also recorded: "To row a dragon boat, a wooden dragon head and dragon tail are tied to the front and back of the boat and released in the middle of the river..." During the Republic of China period, the government also specially organized the Zhenyuan Dragon Boat Race. In the mid-1990s, the "Zhenyuan Dragon Boat Festival on the Dragon Boat Festival" was officially named. As of 2009, the Zhenyuan men's and women's dragon boat teams have represented the Guizhou Provincial Dragon Boat Team 13 times and won awards in major competitions. The Zhenyuan Dragon Boat Race enriches the cultural life of the people in Zhenyuan and its Souvenir areas. The Zhenyuan Dragon Boat Race was announced as the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage list on May 23, 2011. It is a spectacular, unique and popular folk festival integrating culture, commerce and tourism. It is also an important activity to enhance national unity, gather strength of the whole county and promote economic development.

The Zhenyuan Dragon Boat Race is also a comprehensive traditional sports and cultural activity, and a mass entertainment activity with a strong folk culture in Chinese history. For thousands of years, it has been a water event based on faith - the intangible cultural heritage dragon boat race. The traditional dragon boat is a dragon head, helmsman, drummer, and rower who work together to break through the waves. Dragon boat racing is the combination of man and boat. In addition to a powerful rower, a good leader, a helmsman who can control the direction, and a drummer who is good at controlling the rhythm, there must also be a wooden dragon boat of appropriate weight and size. Only when people cooperate with each other and people and boats cooperate with each other can the excitement of dragon boat racing be displayed.

Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, thousands of boats such as the Red Dragon, Yellow Dragon, Blue Dragon, White Dragon, and One-eyed Dragon compete on the Yang River; story boats, hundred-boat boats, competition boats, flower boats and other performance boats compete for beauty. During the boat race, drums are beating, oars are dancing, and the dragon boats are galloping on the waves. There are crowds of people on both sides of the river, and the shouts and gongs and drums are ringing, making it very lively.

In Zhenyuan's annual Dragon Boat Festival, people dressed in Hanfu, Dongfu, Miao costumes and other costumes, marched along the long streets with dancing dragons and singing. When night falls, river lanterns and river cruises are performed one after another, creating a colorful scene. The event, which lasts for several days, fills Zhenyuan with passion and vitality, and is still loved by the people.