Belen de Escobar, Argentina - June 1, 2024

Storyline:
⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠A thrilling dragon boat race was held in Argentina's bay city of Belen de Escobar to celebrate the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Festival, which falls on June 10 this year.

Organized by the Dragon Boat Association of Argentina, the race, which originated in China thousands of years ago, attracted more than 150 paddlers from 16 dragon boat teams across the South American country.

After fierce competition, the Birka dragon boat team won the first place in the 1,000-meter race.

A "dragon eye dotting" ceremony was held as a preclude to the race. Invited guests and paddlers dotted the protruding eyes of the dragon head carved on the boats, thus awakening the dragon from its sleep.

The champion of the dragon boat race will have the opportunity to represent Argentina to compete at the 14th IDBF Club Crew World Dragon Boat Championships, to be held in Italy's Ravenna in September this year.

During the competition, the paddlers also learned about the customs and cultural significance of the Dragon Boat Festival, including the origin of the dragon boat race and how to make Zongzi, a glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves, which is a time-honored delicacy that Chinese people eat during this festival.

Since its establishment in 2019, the Dragon Boat Association of Argentina has held more than 40 national competitions. At present, dragon boat clubs have been established in 15 cities in Argentina, and nearly 60 dragon boat teams have been formed with 5,000 members, with more than 90 percent of whom being locals.

Celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth Chinese lunar month, the Dragon Boat Festival honors the life and legacy of the ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan known for his patriotism and contributions to classical verse.

Shotlist:
Belen de Escobar, Argentina - June 1, 2024:
1. Aerial shots of lake;
2. Various of dragon boat race in progress; paddlers celebrating, kissing dragon head;
3. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Emilia Mattila, leader, Birka dragon boat team:
"We had a very memorable day together, and the weather was quite good. We are very proud of the win.";
4. Various of "dragon eye dotting ceremony" in progress; guests burning incenses, dotting dragon eyes;
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Liu Jingang, president, Dragon Boat Association of Argentina (ending with shot 6):
"We are looking forward to to organizeing the Argentine paddlers to go to China for races and giving them an opportunity see what a real China is. The paddlers say they want to go with me to China and participate in boat races.";
6. Various of dragon boat race in progress; paddlers celebrating;
7. Various of Argentine paddlers eating Zongzi.

[Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]