San Francisco Frontiers - South China's 'fast and furious' Dragon Boat racing turns heads

Believed to originate in ancient China, dragon boat racing has grown into an international sport and remains popular across the south of the country as a celebration of both tradition and athleticism.

It is known for being physically taxing, requiring precise coordination among the paddlers.

But while in nearby Hong Kong the racing is typically done in vast, open waters, in Foshan it is packed into much tighter spaces with larger crews of between 30 to 40 people.

Boats 25 metres-long (80 feet) flew through winding rivers that, at their narrowest, were just three-to-four metres wide.

"Theres no other dragonboat races like this in China, others are in open waters," Xia Lei, a 62-year-old photographer who travelled from Shanghai to see the races, said.

"There's a greater sense of participation here for the crowd, because they are so close to the boats," he said.

Races were divided into categories depending on the shape of the rivers' curves: from L to C to S -- the most challenging.

"Its much more exciting to see in person, the atmosphere is very good here," Zhang Yongle, a student from Shenzhen, told AFP.

Loud cheers went to the local teams from Dongsheng village -- one of which eventually won with the fastest time of two minutes and 41 seconds along the 560-metre stetch of waterway.

"It feels like everyone in Foshan is here," one man could be heard saying over the phone.

Crowds young and old oohed and ahhed as they flew past, often just very narrowly avoiding collisions with the sides of the river.

Some weren't so lucky -- two boats' dragon heads were knocked off by tight turns around the the riverway, prompting roars from onlookers.

Crashes are common, with rowers often thrown from the boats as they careen around corners.

But an old slogan sums up the do-or-die attitude of the teams: "even if we crash, we won't row slowly".

W.Thompson--SFF