Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu celebrates with a top winning team from the Chinese mainland at the 2023 Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races on June 25. Thailand’s team won three awards that day. (EDMOND TANG / CHINA DAILY)
Hong Kong’s famous Victoria Harbour was filled with vibrant colors and cheering fans on June 24-25 as more than 4,000 paddlers from 160 teams including from the Chinese mainland and seven foreign countries braced downpours and raced to the beat of the drum for the 2023 Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races, which returned after a four-year hiatus due to COVID-19.
Arnold Chung Chi Lok, secretary-general of the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association which co-organized the event with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, expressed his delight. “We are committed to promoting the culture by inviting more foreign athletes to Hong Kong to learn the Chinese tradition,” Chung said. “We are also confident in our bid for the 2027 World Dragon Boat Racing Championships.”
Moreover, visitors had fun in meeting LINE FRIENDS, including BROWN, CONY, SALLY and CHOCO, at the Avenue of Stars along the Tsim Sha Tsui East Promenade. For the first time ever, the charming characters donned dragon boat athlete outfits, and competed in the 500-meter races.
Earlier at the Dragon Boat Festival on June 22, eight races were held across the special administrative region as well as in Macao and all over the Chinese mainland. Hong Kong saw 1,002,075 arrivals during the three-day period, including 301,771 visitors from the Chinese mainland, according to data from the Immigration Department of the HKSAR.
(PHOTO / EDMOND TANG AND ANDY CHONG OF CHINA DAILY EXCEPT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED)
(PHOTO / EDMOND TANG AND ANDY CHONG OF CHINA DAILY EXCEPT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED)
(PHOTO / EDMOND TANG AND ANDY CHONG OF CHINA DAILY EXCEPT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED)
(PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)
(PHOTO / XINHUA)
(PHOTO COURTESY OF HONG KONG TOURISM BOARD)
(PHOTO COURTESY OF HONG KONG TOURISM BOARD)
(PHOTO Courtesy of Hong Kong TOURISM Board)
(PHOTO COURTESY OF HONG KONG TOURISM BOARD)
