龍舟 Dragon Boat

The history and culture of Dragon Boat Racing goes back over 2,200 years and has its roots in the legend of Qu Yuan and the sacrifice he made for his country in the third century B.C, when he drowned himself in the Milo River, in Southern China, in protest against the corrupt regimes of that bellicose period, known as Zhan Guo or Warring States.

Accurate renditions of boat races in the Song Dynasty China and in the later Yuan Dynasty period depict dragon boats, dragon boat barges, tiger boats and pheonix boats arrayed in lanes for competition on a marked regatta course in the ancient Chinese capital city known as Kaifeng. At present, dragon boat sport is getting more and more popular in the world, especially in Asia.

Guangdong has great history and culture of dragon boat. Great competition events have been held every year from Southern Song Dynasty in Guangdong. In Guangzhou Asian Games, dragon boat is the first time to be included as the official sport of the Asian Games.

A traditional Chinese style boat propelled solely by Paddlers using single bladed paddles seated in a forward facing position and steered by use of a Steering Oar. The boat shall be fitted with a Drum, Head, Tail, Drummers Seat, Steering Arm and Steering Oar. The crew on the boat will normally comprise one Steerer and one Drummer and twenty Paddlers.

龍舟是中國傳統體育活動。關于龍舟的起源，流傳最廣的是源于紀念楚國愛國詩人屈原，并逐漸傳播到世界很多國家和地區。廣東龍舟運動非常盛行，南宋時廣東已有大型的龍舟競渡。2010年廣州亞運會龍舟首次成為正式比賽項目。

賽場要求為靜水水域，長不低于1000米，寬不低于13米，深不低于3.5米。在規定的距離內進行競賽，先到者獲勝。