⁠⁠⁠⁠A thrilling dragon boat race was held in Argentina's bay city of Belen de Escobar on Saturday to celebrate the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Festival, which falls on May 31 this year. Organized by the Dragon Boat Association of Argentina, the race, which originated in China thousands of years ago, attracted more than 100 paddlers to compete and provided locals with a taste of Chinese culture. The scale of this year's event reached a record high, and a 2,000-meter long-distance race was held for the first time in its history. The winner of the event will represent Argentina at the 17th IDBF World Dragon Boat Racing Championships in Germany in July 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. There are multiple theories about the origin of the Dragon Boat Festival, which is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the traditional Chinese calendar. The most widely accepted version is that the festival is celebrated to commemorate Qu Yuan, who is known for his patriotism and contributions to classical verse. Qu was a loyal statesman and a patriotic poet in Chu, a major state in the Warring States Period (475 B.C.-221 B.C.). He was unjustly exiled by the king of Chu, who disregarded Qu's policy advice. Heartbroken by the news of rivaling forces seizing Chu's capital, Qu drowned himself in the Miluo River. One of the popular legends has it that villagers raced their boats in the river to try to rescue his body and threw zongzi into the water to prevent fish from eating his corpse, but they were unable to find him. Over time, this practice evolved into a millennia-old tradition of dragon boat racing in memory of the poet. As a traditional watercraft activity, dragon boat racing was popularized internationally through the Olympic Games and many sports enthusiasts across the globe. Shotlist: Belen de Escobar, Argentina - May 24, 2025: 1. Aerial shots of lake; 2. Dragon boat race in progress; 3. Paddlers celebrating; 4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Valeria, coach of Argentine national dragon boat team (no full name given) (ending with shot 5): "I am now the coach of the Argentine national team. We will travel to Germany to compete. Our team members are training very hard and I think they have a chance to make the podium."; 5. Various of paddlers in training session; 6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Gabriel Cocca, Vice President, Dragon Boat Association of Argentina: "Everyone can participate in dragon boat races. It is a sport that unites culture and sport. Through this activity, we are generating a very good relationship between Argentina and China."; 7. Trophies, sculpted dragon heads on table; 8. Guest dotting dragon eyes; 9. Various of woman installing "dragon head" onto boat, applauding; 10. Various of people sharing traditional Chinese delicacy zongzi; 11. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Suarez, member of dragon boat team (no full name given): "Everything of the Chinese tradition is very beautiful, and we love everything about it. It makes us very happy every time we compete and participate in it."; 12. Various of dragon boat race in progress. [Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]