2025 UK Dragon Boat Festival Programme

MEDIACITY & THE QUAYS 25 MAY 2025

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organised by the xinhua chinese association

In partnership with Salford City Council (SCC) British Dragon Boat Racing Association (BDA) Endorsed and supported by Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Manchester Facilitated by Suman Education International With additional supports provided by Bolton Council Bury Council Manchester City Council Oldham Council Rochdale Council Stockport Council endorsements

Tamedale Council Trafford Council

Welcome from the City Mayor of Salford I am delighted to welcome the return of the Dragon Boat Festival to Salford Quays – now firmly established as one of the most exciting and vibrant events in our city’s cultural calendar. As the largest Dragon Boat Race in Europe, this spectacular festival brings a thrilling celebration of Chinese culture, heritage and sport to the heart of Salford. It’s a wonderful opportunity for communities to come together to enjoy traditional racing, captivating performances, and a feast of Chinese cuisine, music and dance. I am especially pleased that this year’s festival includes, for the first time, a dedicated youth event – offering young people the chance to get involved, have fun, and be part of this fantastic celebration. My sincere thanks go to the Xinhua Chinese Association for once again organising such a brilliant event. Best of luck to all the teams racing, and I hope everyone has a fantastic day at the festival! Paul Dennett City Mayor of Salford

ABOUT THE EVENT ORGANISER XINHUA CHINESE ASSOCIATION

Xinhua Chinese Association (XCA) was established in Manchester in 2004. The association represents a new generation of Chinese people. Most of the XCA members originally came to the UK for academic studies, later settling down as professionals working in and contributing to many field including Education, Science and Technology, Medicine and Business.

Chairman of XCA, MD of Imperial 21 Holdings Ltd, MD of Suman Group Dr Yanzhong Xu

Vice Chairwoman and Deputy Secretary-General of XCA, CEO of Suman Group Ms Jili Deng

Honorary Chairman of XCA, Retired Director of CS Energy Consultancy Dr Hanxin Yang

Vice Chairwoman of XCA, Director of LaChine LinCom Ltd Ms Xuebing Li

Vice Chairman of XCA, Head of Choir Group, Reader in Textile Materials, University of Manchester Dr Xiaogang Chen

Executive Member of XCA, Head of Dancing Group, Highly Specialist Clinical Physiologist Ms Yihong Song

Dr Jiashen Li

Vice Chairman of XCA, Head of Biological Physics, University of Manchester Prof Jianren Lu

Executive Member of XCA, Director of LaChine LinCom Ltd Dr Ning Su

Vice Chairman of XCA, Lecturer in Textile Science & Engineering, University of Manchester

XCA strives to promote Chinese culture in the UK and provides a platform for Chinese people to have their voices heard and to get involved in the mainstream social activities. Over the past years, XCA has organised all sorts of social and cultural activities and events for its members and the general public. The UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is one of the most high-profile events organised by XCA.

Executive Member of XCA, Head of International Market Development, University of Leeds Ms Hong Wang

Executive Member of XCA, Soprano, Choir conductor, Founder of Annie Vocal Arts Ms Xiaoguang Wang

Executive Member of XCA, President of Traditional Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture UK Dr Mei Xing

Executive Member of XCA, Senior Software Engineer of Elementar UK Ltd Dr Jian Yu

Executive Member of XCA, FBMH Teaching Technician, University of Manchester Ms Qing Zhang

Executive Member of XCA, Head of Bowen Education Ms Jessica Chang

Executive Member of XCA, Financial Management, Manchester City Council Ms Yanqun Yang

Executive Member of XCA, Public Servant, Salford City Council Ms Lingling Cao

Executive Member of XCA, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of Manchester Prof Hujun Yin

Executive Member of XCA, Vice President of Advanced Medical Solutions Group Ms Yinghong Guang

Non-Executive Member of XCA, Professor of Control Systems, University of Manchester Prof Zhengtao Ding

Non-Executive Member of XCA, Director of LPRC, University of Manchester Prof Lin Li

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Since introducing the first UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival in Salford in 2012, the Xinhua Chinese Association (XCA) has, through continuous effort and dedication, grown the event into a widely recognised and much-loved community celebration. This success has been made possible with the generous support of local councils, the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Manchester, local communities, universities, businesses, and UK Chinese Students and Scholars Associations. The festival has made a significant contribution to enriching the cultural and sporting life of Greater Manchester, fostering an inclusive, multicultural society, and strengthening the bonds of friendship and civil exchange between the UK and China. The 2025 Dragon Boat Festival marks the continuation of this cherished tradition. Once again, it will be delivered in strategic partnership with Salford City Council and the British Dragon Boat Racing Association – the national governing body for dragon boat racing in Great Britain, recognised by the UK Sports Council. On this occasion, we, the organisers, would like to express our deepest gratitude to all those who have generously supported the event over the years.

We also wish to express our sincere thanks to our supporters

Bank of China UK Title Sponsor

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Yanghe & Imperial 21 Joya

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We are also proud to be supporting Action for Children once again this year – a charity for which Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales serves as Royal Patron. The XCA is especially grateful to the UK Government and the Royal Household of Kensington Palace for their recent kind words of encouragement and support.

DRAGON BOAT TEAMS 2025 Amateur Teams • Adidas • All Eat App • Ashville Dragon Slayers • ATCM • Bank of China • Birtwistles Catering Butchers • BYD x LSH Auto • Care+Protect | Haier • CHBC Cambridge University • Che Kung Tong Chinese Association • CSSA HUDD-KLE-HUL-NU • CSSA HUDD-KLE-LU-HUL-NU • CSSA Leeds • CSSA Liverpool • CSSA Manchester

• Joya Yanghe • Juneyao Airlines • Manchester 235 Casino • Manchester City • Manchester-China Friendship Programme • Medlock Solicitors • Midea UK • NHS Staff Manchester • Only Yu • Peacock London Dream Blue • Persian Tigers • Phoenix RC & UK Fujian Business Association • Salford Red Devils • Suman Group • The Bank of East Asia Ltd • The Barrington Basilisks • The Belt and Road Association (UK) • The Chinese Northeast Fellow Association UK • WSP • Xinhua Chinese Association • Zink • 53two

• CSSA Northfiveuni 01 • CSSA Northfiveuni 02 • CSSA Sheffield • CSSA York • Exchange Quay • Federation of Chinese Associations of Manchester • Freshfields • Hainan Airlines • HSBC UK

Youth Teams • Agecroft • Bowen Education • Eccles Sixth Form College

• Hazel Grove Sixth Form • Wenlu Chinese Academy Youth Team

GUIDE TO THE UK CHINESE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL MEDIACITY AND THE QUAYS 25 MAY 2025

The 2025 UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival will feature 50 competing teams, including, for the first time, youth teams from local schools. The races are organised and managed by a professional company to ensure a safe, enjoyable, and fair experience for all participants. Building on the success of previous years, the event will not only deliver thrilling dragon boat races but also showcase authentic Chinese cultural attractions. Highlights include traditional lion and dragon dances, Chinese martial arts demonstrations, folk dancing, choir performances, and a variety of Chinese cuisine – featuring delicacies such as Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and much more.

It’s a fantastic day out for families and a great opportunity for corporate team building.

PREVIOUS EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS FROM

• Since joining in 2016, the Greater Manchester Police Team has claimed two championships and one runner-up title.

• In 2019, police teams from twin sister cities Wuhan and Manchester took the top honours, winning the championship and runner-up positions respectively.

• In 2022, CSSA – Hull emerged as the champions.

• The 2023 event marked a new era of sports and cultural entertainment, jointly organised for the first time by XCA, SCC, and BDA – setting a new benchmark for collaborative excellence.

• In 2023, the team of Persian Tigers won the championship.

• In 2024, Manchester City in the Community and Manchester Foundation Red Devils went head-to-head; while Salford Red Devils Rugby Club also joined the thrilling race.

• In 2024, The Belt and the Road (UK) won the championship.

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BASICS OF UK CHINESE DRAGON BOAT RACE

Dragon boat race is a team paddling sport of dragon boat racing. It is not competition-oriented; anyone can enter the race, with no experience required.

Steersman Also known as the sweep, the steersman steers the dragon boat with a sweep oar that is rigged at the rear of the boat, typically on the left side. This is done by using the oar as a rudder, while the boat is moving, or by sweeping the stern of the boat sideways by pulling or pushing water with the oar as the boat is moving slowly or stationary.

Dragon Boat Crew Each team has ten paddlers, one drummer and one steersman, who is assigned by the event organizer. The pulsation of the drum beats produced by the drummer may be considered the “heartbeat” of the dragon boat. The drummer leads the paddlers throughout a race using the rhythmic drum beat to indicate the frequency and synchronisation of all the paddlers’ strokes (that is, the cadence, picking up or

Paddlers

The paddlers sit facing forward in the boat and use a specific type of paddle, which, unlike a rowing sweep or scull, is not rigged to the racing watercraft in any way. Therefore, dragon boaters are paddlers not rowers or oarsmen/women.

accelerating the pace, slowing the rate, etc.)

THE STORIES OF DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Jie in Chinese, is a traditional holiday celebrated primarily in China and among Chinese communities around the world. It is one of the four major traditional Chinese festivals (the other 3 are Spring Festival, Tomb-sweeping Day and Mid-Autumn Festival), and falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, typically in May or June. The festival has a rich history that dates back over 2,000 years and is deeply rooted in various cultural and historical narratives. One of the most popular legends associated with the festival is the story of Qu Yuan, a famous poet and statesman of the Warring States period (475-221 BC). Qu Yuan is revered for his patriotism and integrity; when he saw the destruction of his homeland, he is said to have drowned himself in the Miluo River. Local people, distraught over his death, raced to the river in boats to try to save him and threw rice dumplings (Zongzi) into the water to feed his spirit, preventing fish from consuming his body.

Today, the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated with a variety of customs and traditions. One of the most prominent activities is dragon boat racing, where teams paddle in long, narrow boats adorned with dragon heads and tails. This lively competition is both an athletic endeavour and a vibrant cultural spectacle.

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CUSTOMS OF DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

There are also many other customs of dragon boat festival in the past 2000 years, but over time, not many people who continue toobserve these traditions now.

Hanging Wormwood Wormwood is believed to have protective properties and is thought to ward off evil spirits and bring good luck.

Tying Five-Colour Silk Thread According to folklore, tying five-colour silk thread to wrists, ankles, and around neck will protect children from evil.

Balancing Eggs It is said that you will be lucky in the coming year if you can balance an egg upright during Dragon Boat Festival. The egg balancing competition will be held at noon in many places.

Wearing Scented Sachets A scented sachet is an ornament worn on the front of the dress. The sweet smelling sachet contains cinnabar, realgar and aromatic herbs.

INTERESTING DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL FOOD

Zongzi

Eggs boiled with tea leaves It is a custom for people in Central China to eat eggs boiled with tea leaves. The boiled egg is also dyed in red and put into a colourful net bag for children to hang around their neck, which is believed to bring them good luck. Mianshanzi Mianshanzi is a type of wheat flour food made in the shape of a fan. It usually consists of five layers, with each layer covered with fried sprinkles of pepper powder. It is a popular Dragon Boat Festival food in Northwest China. Fried Cake Fried cake is a type of fried round cake made of wheat flour, rice, and sweet potato. In East China, every family eats fried cake during the Dragon Boat Festival as they believe that it will help mend the sky that once had a hole in it, which leads to non-stop rain in the fifth month of the lunar calendar. Glutinous Glutinous rice cakes are a popular delicacy for people who live in Northeast China. Zongzi is glutinous rice wrapped in leaves with fillings, which can include egg, beans, dates, fruits, sweet potato, walnut, mushroom, meat, or a combination of these. They are normally boiled in water. It is a traditional custom for Chinese people to eat Zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival.

CELEBRATING DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL IN CHINA

What do people do?

The real highlight of the festival is the spectacle of fierce-looking dragon boat racing, which is both lively and vibrant. Participants train in earnest for the competition. Sitting two abreast, the paddlers, with a steersman at the back and a drummer at the front, race the elaborately decorated dragon boats to the beat of heavy drums.

The dragon boats are traditionally made of teak wood to various designs and sizes, which usually have brightly decorated designs with the front end shaped like open-mouthed dragons, and the back end with a scaly tail. A sacred ceremony is performed before any competition in order to ‘bring the boat to life’ by painting the eyes.

Why do people do this? The humid and muggy conditions around Duanwu are thought to increase the risk of disease. Ancient people considered this susceptibility to disease as the effect of evil spirits, which coincided with their belief about inauspicious days. Duanwu thus became a day for collective customs to purge poison and expel plagues annually on the day of his death.

INTERESTING DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL CUSTOMS ACROSS CHINA

Hong Kong

On the day, the deity statues are put on sacred sampans towed by the dragon boats of the associations to parade through Tai O and to pacify the wandering water ghosts. Residents of the stilt houses along the water-course burn paper offerings as the dragon boats pass by. The deity statues are then returned to the respective temples after the ritual. During the annual Dragon Boat Festival, the famous Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade is held. Three fishermen associations in Tai O, the tranquil fishing village in west Lantou, organise a religious activity known as a “Deities Parade”.

Sichuan

In Sichuan, groups of four carry a large platform on bamboo poles. The platform has a red carpet and supports a statue of a Taoist deity riding a tiger, symbolizing protection and strength. The sound of gongs and drums accompany these people as they march in the street.

Hunan

In Hunan, rich families with pregnant women throw auspicious coins into a jar of wine. They then place the jar on the head of a dragon boat and pray for the successful birth of an heir. Less affluent families might offer chicken and wine as a sacrifice instead. People also make straw boats and let them float away as a symbol of expelling God of Plague.

Taiwan

In Taiwan, Duanwu is also called Wuri (Meaning Fifth Day) Festival. People believe that if you can balance a raw egg on its end at exactly noon on the day, it is believed to bring luck for the rest of the year. Another custom practiced in Taiwan is “fetching noon water”, in which people draw well water on the afternoon of the festival in the belief that it will cure all illness.

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UK CHINESE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

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The Xinhua Chinese Association (XCA) sincerely thanks the following organisations for their generous contributions to the much-loved and highly popular UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (UCDBF). Your kind support helps promote a multicultural and inclusive British society. ACKNOWLEDGMENT & APPRECIATION

Suman Group Shizhen TCM Ltd Shulan College of Chinese Medicine & Golden Health Clinic Sushi Mami Restaurant Peace Garden Restaurant Peacock Dream Blue Wing Yip Blackpool Chinese Community Association Blue Whale Live Seafood Ltd Wing Fat Che Kung Tong (UK) CSSA Manchester North England Chinese Enterprises Rockfield Media JingLong Signare

Bank of China Yanghe & Imperial 21 Joya Hainan Airlines Juneyao Air HSBC UK Phoenix RC Automotive Shaanxi Redstar Ruanxiangsu Food Group All Eat App BYD x LSH Auto Care+Protect | Haier China Taiping Insurance (UK) Co Ltd Midea Home Appliances UK Berry's Jewellers Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, London

Chint Europe (UK) Ltd Shunfa Construction M8 Hotpot ATCM