Singapore Dragon Boat Festival

Pulses race at the Bedok Reservoir during the Singapore Dragon Boat Festival. Top crews of 24 men from all over the world compete in beautifully decorated boats, which speed through the water to the invigorating beat of drums and gongs.

The legend behind dragon boat racing goes back more than two millennia. An apparently incorruptible Minister of State, a poet called Qu Yuan, lived in the Chinese Kingdom of Chu serving the government with integrity. He became so upset by the manifold abuses of courtiers and the rampant corruption of the government that he threw himself in despair into the Mei Lo river. Grief-stricken local fishermen did their best to save the patriotic poet. Sailing up and down the river they thrashed the water with their oars and paddles to scare off the hungry fish that might eat his body.

They didn't manage to save the poet, but in commemoration of his honest character, the fishermen threw cooked rice dumplings wrapped in silk or banana leaves into the water to appease the spirits of the river on the anniversary of his death. These rice dumplings are called Tsung Tze or Ma Chang and are still thrown today during Singapore's races.

Related Information

Website: Singapore Dragon Boat Association Website