First post-pandemic Dragon Boat Festival celebrations return with a roar

The first post-pandemic Dragon Boat Festival today saw troves of people heading out to celebrate, with hundreds flocking to Stanley to support 168 teams composed of over 5,000 competitors to race to be crowned the best dragon boat team.

In addition, the competitions at Shing Mun River also returned to allow the dragon boat teams to challenge themselves to earn the number one spot against the backdrop of the audience's cheers.

One of the audience members, Chan, was glad he could bring his daughter out after the pandemic to let her experience the festival atmosphere.

The dragon boat race in Aberdeen will be the biggest competition for the day, with 28 races throughout the event. And during the major races in the afternoon, a total of 10 large dragon boats composed of fishermen will participate in the competition.

Some residents were preparing for another significant Dragon Boat Festival cultural practice - rice dumplings. 

They flocked to Old San Yang, a popular store located in Causeway Bay, to buy the festive food. One of them, Lau, said she prefers the rice dumplings from the store because the taste reminds her of her hometown, Shanghai.

Chong, who came with his wife to spend over HK$1,000 to buy rice dumplings, said he was introduced to this store by friends and has been a regular customer ever since.

He added that he planned to attend the dragon boat races in Aberdeen after the shopping.

The owner of the Old San Yang, Ki, stated that while there has been a recovery after the pandemic, the overall business has still dropped due to the corporates not buying large quantities of dumplings.

She said that despite the increase in the manufacturing costs of certain flavors, she still refuses to increase the price of her products.

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