This article**: People's Daily Online-Australia Channel.
The Spring Festival Dragon Boat Race in Sydney, Australia kicked off (Photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
People's Daily Online, Sydney, February 17 - On February 16, the Australian Sydney New Year Dragon Boat Race kicked off in Sydney's Darling Harbour. The event will run over three days and will feature more than 3,000 competitors.
Yu Jie, Acting Consul General of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Sydney, Guo Yaowen, Deputy Mayor of Sydney, Kranz, CEO of the New South Wales Dragon Boat Association, and Ms Lam Meiyi, Director of the Economic and Trade Office of Hong Kong in Sydney, attended the event and delivered speeches.
In his opening speech, Yu Jie extended Chinese New Year greetings to friends from all walks of life, saying that dragon boat sports are very popular in Australia, which is the embodiment of Australia's diverse culture. Cultural and sports exchanges are an important part of China-Australia relations and are of great significance to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.
Guo Yaowen, Kranitz and others said that the Spring Festival Dragon Boat Race has become a landmark event in Sydney's Spring Festival celebrations, and the scale of this year's event has hit a record high. The City of Sydney attaches great importance to the role played by overseas Chinese and is willing to further promote people-to-people exchanges between Australia and China and deepen mutual understanding. Guo Yaowen said in an interview that such events are a kind of cross-cultural communication and interaction, and when one culture can learn about another, it helps to build stronger and better relationships.
Lam Meiyi said that the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Sydney has long supported the Sydney New Year Dragon Boat Race, hoping to promote traditional Chinese culture through the Dragon Boat Race and let the Australian people feel the festive atmosphere of the Chinese New Year.
The dragon boat race kicked off with a traditional Taoist water ceremony, where guests used brushes to put the finishing touches on the 12-metre-long dragon boat, implying that the "sleeping dragon" would wake up, and the intense competition was about to start.
The atmosphere was warm, accompanied by the sound of gongs, drums and shouts, and the runners rowed together and quickly sprinted to the finish line. In addition, performances with Chinese characteristics were staged in turn, such as bamboo flute performances, dragon and lion dances, and flash mob performances. The Chinese New Year Dragon Boat Race culminated in Sydney's Lunar New Year celebrations.
This year, the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Sydney and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Sydney jointly formed a team to participate in the amateur competition. More than 400 cheerleaders from the Consulate General, overseas Chinese, Chinese-funded institutions and Chinese students attended the game to cheer.
It is reported that the Sydney New Year Dragon Boat Race, hosted by the New South Wales Dragon Boat Association, is the highlight of the Lunar New Year celebration series held by the city of Sydney, and is also the largest racing event in the southern hemisphere. (Zhang Shuhui).
The Spring Festival Dragon Boat Race in Sydney, Australia kicked off (Photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
The Sydney Spring Festival Dragon Boat Race attracts many people and tourists to watch the race (Photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
Yu Jie, Acting Consul General of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Sydney, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony (Photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
Deputy Mayor of Sydney Guo Yaowen delivered a speech at the opening ceremony (Photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
New South Wales Dragon Boat Association CEO Krantz speaks at the opening ceremony (Photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
The guests used a brush to put the finishing touches on the 12-meter-long dragon boat (photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
The Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Sydney and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office of Hong Kong in Sydney jointly formed a team to participate in the amateur competition (Photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
The Spring Festival Dragon Boat Race in Sydney, Australia kicked off (Photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
The dragon dance performance at the Sydney Spring Festival Dragon Boat Race (Photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
Local overseas Chinese dressed in traditional Chinese costumes came to the scene to watch the game and cheer (photo by Zhang Wenzhe).
Live bamboo flute performance (photo by Zhang Wenzhe).