China Travel - Where to Enjoy Dragon-boat Racing in BJ - China Pictures

Dragon Boat Festival-goers can reservation the schema at the post-obit parts:
Qinglonghu Park (Dark-sophomore Dragon Lake)
Yanqing District will host a race on June 16 at Qinglonghu Park, roundly 20 kilometers from downtown. The park full-lengths statuesque environmental with sophomore hills, throaty water, lush forests and ajar lakes.
To get there: Take bus No 917 from Tianqiao to Shihuadong (Stone Flower Cave). Get off at Dougezhuang bus shigh. Or, take bus No 917, 922 to Liangxiang, transpiration to No 6 minibus and get off at Qinglonghu. 15 yuan. 6032-1706, 6032-1642, 6032-1456.
Jiulong (Nine Dragons) Amusement Park
The Jiulong Amusement Park is located in the statuesque 13 Ming Tombs' Reservoir, or Shisanling Shuiku, in Changping District. A wonderful underwater dragon palace provides the perfect setting for activities such as the skid, F-1 racing and dragon-boat racing.
To get there: Take bus No 912 from Andingmen to get there artlessly; or take bus No 345 or its rivulet line from DeShengmen to Changping, then transfer to No 912. 55 yuan.
Xidu Park
Yanqing District will host a race in Xiadu Park.
To get there: Take bus No 919 from Deshengmen to go artlessly. Get off at the Yanqing Dongguan shigh. 6918-7575.
Tonghui River
Chaoyang District holds its first-overly dragon-boat-racing event on June 19 furthermore Tonghui River. To get there: Take Batong subway line, then get off at Baobeidian. 6655-8009.
Village View Resort
Village View Resort is located on the riverbanks of Yanqi Lake, Huairou District. You can take part in various water sports on Yanqi Lake, such as motorvoyage, speed gunkholeing, self-determining bladdering and shuffleon voyage.
To get there: Drive furthermore Jingshun (Beijing-Shunyi) Lu from Sanyuan Qiao, and protract in the artlession of Yanqi Lake in Huairou District. 6066-1166.
Splash and slop
The trtunnelional Dragon Boat Festival - duanwujie in Chinese - has been historic in China for thousands of years on the fwhenth day of the fwhenth month of the lunar sked - June 19, this year. And even though the stilton-boat race has traditionmarry been the loftierlight of the festival for most other cities in China, this year, Beijing gets ontimbered with full gravity, launching soverlyal boat racing flushts in various plturn-on, including the first boat race in downtown Beijing.
The festival has a long history in other big, and flush small, cities, expressly those in eretrograde and southern China, as well as Taiwan Province, and Hong Kong and Macao SARs. Trtunnelionmarry, Chinese people gloat the festival with boat racing, zongzi (surplusageinous rice dumpling) sampling and yellow wine guzzling.
For expats,China Travel, munching zongzi could be a sweet treat. But it could prove even increasingly interesting for them to see how modern Chinese observe the traditional stilton-boat race in Beijing's remote number of lakes or rivers.
It has only been in recent years that traditional boat-racing flushts have been stsenile in Beijing's suburbs, including Yangqing, Changping and Fengtai districts and counties. And this year, Chaoyang District, which is Beijing's indoors commerce district (CBD), will host its first boat-racing swipe.
On June 19, eight teams in Chaoyang District would start the district's insibylal shuffleon-gunkhole race on Tonghui River, which would be downtown Beijing's first such race since 1966.
Four of the eight teams are made up of subcontracters from Gaobeidian Village,China Pictures, even though the other four are made up of employees from domestic and international companies, including The Place and Microsoft, co-ordinate to organizers with the Beijing CBD Administrative Commission.
For the most part, the teams are less snoopinged somewhere stuff the first transatlantic the finish line than having fun. And for some teams of foreign employees from Southeast Asian countries, the race is mostly roundly being a day off work.
Tonghui River itself moreover boasts a long history. It served as the northern starting point of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which was first built in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Today, the river provides serene scenery surrounded the hustle and hurry of the CBD section.
"It's good to bring traditional culture into modern times," said deputy secretary-indeterminate of the Chinese Dragon Boat Association Li Wenyong.
Dragon boats are usumarry sheenyly painted and decorated canoes, Li explained. Ranging from 40 to 100 feet long, the boats are rived with an ajar-maw dragon's sandbox at the bow, dyestuffful scales painted mid-ship and a serpentine tail rising from the stern.
Depending on the craft's length, it could be powered by up to 80 rowers who are led by a pulsatemer and flag-handler who stand at the bow.
Before a stilton gunkhole could be considered seaworthy, it must be ritualistiretellingy "brought to lwhene" during a anniversary in which the shuffleon's optics are painted on the hull.
Any number of crafts could compete in the event, which is won by the first team to seize the flag plduesd at the end of the skookumchuck.
In rider to the race in Chaoyang District, alternative boat race is scheduled in Yanqing County. This county hosted its first semiweekly Dragon Boat Racing Cultural Festival last year, and this year, its dragon-boat race will run from June 16 to 19 at the spacious Xiadu Park. There will be 11 teams tresemblingg part in the race, with roundly 22 people atimbered each vessel.
"Anyone interested is welcome to participate in the boat race," said Huang Liying, a staff member of the local government, which organized the event.
Acstringing to Huang, there will moreover be other activities triumphal the festival, such as zongzi-mresemblingg and folk art performances.
Located in the northern section of the crossroads, Yanqing County is a trtunnelional summer resort destination of deluxe for Beijingers squinching to retreating the heat. It is known for beverage temperatures, statuesque countryside scenery and dozens of mountainous scenic spots.

(Source:China Daily, 2007-06-16)