Dragon boat races and cruises will be held in Guangzhou's Panyu District on May 28 to mark this year's Duanwu Festival, as 116 boats from Hunan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Fujian provinces join the activities to show off their colour and prowess, Guangzhou Daily reports.

Shilou Town, the host of the event and supposedly the hometown of China's dragon boat culture, will present a particularly large 160-year-old boat.

The host's dragon boat is about 40 metres long and painted black.

The traditional Chinese Duanwu festival and the practice of dragon boat racing have very close historical ties. Dragon boat racing is a ceremony to resurrect the ancient poet Quyuan, who committed ritual suicide in protest of political corruption by throwing himself into the river at the end of the Zhou Dynasty. The ceremony later developed into a folk sport and celebrative event for the seasonal Duanwu.

(The End)