An oar-inspiring city

Unlike the standard crew of 12 in the Asian Games events, traditional dragon boat races feature larger boats and more participants. Each crew usually consists of between 20 and 40 people.

Over the past two millennia, residents of Wenzhou have also explored more ways to develop dragon boat culture.

During the Qing Dynasty, they transformed racing dragon boats into ornamental ones. Much larger in size, they were called "Water Pavilions".People used to enjoy performances and host ceremonies of worship on the boats, which would move slowly down the river during the Dragon Boat Festival.

In recent years, Wenzhou has continued to promote dragon boat culture. In addition to annual dragon boat races held across the city, it has built a dragon boat park featuring themed sculptures, terraces and other structures. Since 2018, it has also established dragon boat bases in Barcelona, Rome, Paris, and Copenhagen.

The competitive spirit has inspired locals to make their own way in the world. Wenzhou people are known for their innovation and businesses acumen.

During the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), Zhou Zhu, a merchant from Wenzhou, traveled to Goryeo (a kingdom on the Korean Peninsula) on a trade ship and settled down there, eventually ending up working as a government official. He is historically considered to be the first overseas Chinese from Wenzhou.