{"id":1713,"date":"2015-07-06T01:00:15","date_gmt":"2015-07-06T01:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.sg\/stories\/singapore-dragon-boat-festival\/"},"modified":"2022-07-11T17:37:12","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T17:37:12","slug":"singapore-dragon-boat-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.sg\/stories\/experience\/singapore-dragon-boat-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"The pomp and pageantry of the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #003366;\"><em>By Kasey\u00a0Clark<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Dragon-boat crews from around the world gather to participate in the magic of the annual Singapore Dragon Boat Festival. From its rich history and colourful rituals to the excitement of both the races and the spectators, here\u2019s what makes the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival a must-see event. Don\u2019t miss this year\u2019s festivities on Saturday, 11 July and Sunday, 12 July.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Festival Facts<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/travelblog.expedia.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/GettyImages-121476034.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5371 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/travelblog.expedia.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/GettyImages-121476034.jpg\" alt=\"Dragon boats at rest in Bedok Reservoir\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" \/><\/a>Dragon boats at rest in Bedok Reservoir.<\/h6>\n<p>The Singapore Dragon Boat Festival takes place every year in the 88-hectare <a href=\"https:\/\/travelblog.expedia.com.sg\/?s=singapore\" target=\"_blank\">Bedok<\/a>, about 20 minutes by car or taxi from downtown. Sports fans, history buffs or just those looking for a bit of culture and fun will love the festive atmosphere, the demonstrations of the crew members\u2019 athleticism and the vibrant traditions that are the hallmark of this prestigious annual competition.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Rich History and Traditions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Legends vary in the telling, but dragon boat racing dates back to ancient China and two stories. The first story involves the Chinese people\u2019s reverence for the River Dragon, a generous \u2018spirit of the waters\u2019 that the people believed controlled the rain. Consequently, they paid homage to him during the summer solstice, when they were hoping for enough rain to grow their crops but not so much rain as to cause flooding and loss. Today, the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival still takes place around the time of the summer solstice.<\/p>\n<p>The second story involves the death of renowned Chinese poet and statesman, Qu Yuan, in the third century BC. As legend has it, the just and honourable Qu Yuan was desperately disheartened by the corruption he saw within his own government \u2013 so much so, in fact, that he killed himself by throwing himself into the\u00a0Mei\u00a0Lo River. Today, the rowing motions of the dragon boat teams are meant to recall the frantic actions of the townspeople as they beat the water with oars to scare off man-eating fish while trying \u2013 unsuccessfully \u2013 to save the ill-fated Qu Yuan.<\/p>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/travelblog.expedia.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/GettyImages-558985755.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5374 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/travelblog.expedia.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/GettyImages-558985755.jpg\" alt=\"Ba chang, a traditional rice dumpling\" width=\"800\" height=\"532\" \/><\/a>Ba chang, a traditional rice dumpling.<\/h6>\n<p>Another festival tradition involves tossing silk-wrapped or banana-leaf-wrapped <em>ba<\/em>\u00a0<em>chang<\/em> (cooked rice dumplings) into the water to placate the river spirits (and, possibly, those same man-eating fish!). Indulging in these triangular dumplings is still very much part of modern-day dragon boat races. Typically, <em>ba chang<\/em> consist of glutinous rice filled with meat, dates, egg yolks, beans, chestnuts and mushrooms; they\u2019re then wrapped in banana leaf before being steamed to perfection. You can also find delicious plain, sugared dumplings at the festival.<\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2><strong>Lucky-looking Boats<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Even before the races begin, the brightly coloured, beautifully decorated fibreglass dragon boats are stunning sights to see. In Chinese mythology, dragons are lucky creatures, so it\u2019s certainly understandable that these crews paddle boats featuring a dragon head at the bow and a dragon tail at the stern as they go for the win. The magnificent beastly boats measure from 12 to 30 metres long.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A Day (or Two) at the Races<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>At the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival, teams of 22 crew members take their places in these spectacular boats and try to pull their way to victory amid the cries of screaming spectators lining the reservoir. In the bow of the boat, the crew\u2019s drummer serves several important purposes. First, his or her rhythmic drumbeats aim to set the pace for the paddlers\u2019 rowing and he or she must keep time with the strokes of the front two paddlers. Naturally, this rhythmic thumping adds to the anticipation and atmosphere of each action-packed race. Also, the drummer is like having an on-board cheerleader, serving to spur on his or her\u00a0teammates\u00a0from start to finish. Outside the boats, you can likewise expect Singaporeans,\u00a0expats\u00a0and visitors alike to join in the cheering and chanting for their countries and favourite teams during these intense, fast-paced races.<\/p>\n<h6 style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/travelblog.expedia.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/GettyImages-172212835.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5373 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/travelblog.expedia.com.sg\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/GettyImages-172212835.jpg\" alt=\"Dragon boating requires camaraderie and combined teamwork\" width=\"800\" height=\"535\" \/><\/a>Dragon boating requires camaraderie and combined teamwork.<\/h6>\n<p>Racing categories for the 2015 Singapore Dragon Boat Festival include open, mixed, women\u2019s and senior events. This year\u2019s contest features 24 500-metre races and several 200-metre races. One of the yearly highlights of the festival is the Prime Minister\u2019s Cup, a 1000-metre race that pits students from four of Singapore\u2019s universities \u2013\u00a0Nanyang\u00a0Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Management University (SMU) and Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) \u2013 against each other. Think of it like the Oxford and Cambridge or the Harvard and Yale rivalry of the Far East. There\u2019s a Prime Minister\u2019s Cup race for both men and women and both take place on the Sunday of the festival.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re a newbie to dragon boat racing or a seasoned spectator, the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival is sure to light a fire under you for other dragon boat events.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\">Image Credits: Getty Images<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Kasey\u00a0Clark Dragon-boat crews from around the world gather to participate in the magic of the annual Singapore Dragon Boat Festival. From its rich history and colourful rituals to the excitement of both the races and the spectators, here\u2019s what makes the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival a must-see event. Don\u2019t miss this year\u2019s festivities on&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.expedia.com.sg\/stories\/experience\/singapore-dragon-boat-festival\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The pomp and pageantry of the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,44,70,12,64,166,102],"tags":[122,105,106],"authors":[10],"class_list":["post-1713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-active-and-adventure","category-activities","category-asia","category-experience","category-festivals-events","category-outdoors","category-singapore-staycations","tag-singapore","tag-staycation-singapore","tag-things-to-do-in-singapore","authors-expedia-singapore","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with 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