Thousand boat race! Citizens of Songjiang cheer and cheer for the dragon boat race participants by the Huating Lake, with hundreds of boats competing for the top spot in Songjiang | City | Lakeside
On June 22, the "Industrial Bank Cup" Shanghai Urban Amateur League Dragon Boat Competition and the 13th Songjiang District Dragon Boat Festival 2023 kicked off at Huating Lake in Fangsong Street, Songjiang District. On that day, the sound of gongs and drums on the banks of Huating Lake was loud, with crowds of people gathering. Citizens gathered on both sides of Huating Lake to enjoy the magnificent scene of "a hundred boats competing for the current, a thousand boats competing for the ferry". The 29 participating teams in this dragon boat competition come from various streets, towns, and industries in the region, with nearly 500 athletes registering to participate.
It is understood that the Dragon Boat Festival in Songjiang District is a traditional sports event that is deeply loved by the citizens of Songjiang. The event was founded in 2009 and after more than ten years of careful cultivation, it has become a beautiful city card that integrates sports events and urban landscapes in Songjiang. It is also a brand of Dragon Boat Festival that closely integrates cultural, sports, and tourism. The person in charge of the event organizer Shanghai Zhuyi Sports Development Co., Ltd. said that watching and rowing dragon boats during the Dragon Boat Festival has become a lifestyle habit in Songjiang to inherit the Dragon Boat Festival customs, pursue a healthy physique, and enjoy a quality of life.
The folk "water worship ceremony" at the opening ceremony was unique, with actors playing Qu Yuan holding bamboo slips and reciting water worship rituals in a soothing and melodious ancient music. "Asking for mountains in spring, worshipping water in summer, searching for roots in autumn, and praying for blessings in winter" is also an important activity of "worshipping water in summer" in the tourism festivals of Songjiang District.
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With the sound of the signal gun, dragon boats bravely advanced along the 200 meter race track, like dragons emerging from the water, like a hundred boats competing for the current, chopping waves and striving to be the first. Dragon boat races in Huating Lake, with citizens from both sides cheering together. "Let's go! Let's go!" The drums on the dragon boat and the cheers on the lakeside blended together, pushing the competition to its climax.
The lightweight dragon boat chops through the waves, leaving ripples on the wide Huating Lake. After a tense and intense competition throughout the morning, the Yueyang Street Dragon Boat Team and the Songjiang Education Dragon Boat Team respectively won the championships of the Street Town Group and the Open Group. Among them, the Songjiang Education Dragon Boat Team achieved five consecutive championships in the Songjiang District Dragon Boat Festival.
"This dragon boat racing event not only focuses on sports competitions in planning, but also pays attention to the participation and interaction of the masses." The relevant person in charge of the Songjiang District Sports Bureau stated that they will adhere to the concept of "sports benefiting the people and healthy Songjiang", fully promote the concept of "adhering to new development concepts, reform and opening up new paths, innovation and practicality, and empower and increase efficiency for the construction of a modern new Songjiang that the people aspire to, which is" scientific and technological innovation, humanities, and ecology ".
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On the same day, the sponsor also set up a special exhibition area for trade activities, which displayed and sold traditional handicrafts such as wrapping Zongzi, kneading clay figurines, cutting window patterns, blowing sugar figurines, intangible cultural heritage products such as Chedun silk screen prints, Yexie bamboo weaving, Xiaokunshan hand bow, and special pastries such as Yexie soft cakes, Tang bakeries, Luming catering, so that the citizens who came to watch the dragon boat race not only enjoyed the event, but also returned with full loads, and bought more special products.
The bustling sound of gongs and drums by Huating Lake and the flourishing development of sports events are behind the improvement of the refinement level of social governance in Fangsong Street, the promotion of high-quality development of the service industry, and the increasing prosperity of commerce.
In recent years, Fangsong Street has supported and encouraged commercial districts within its jurisdiction to hold characteristic activities, carry out cultural activities in commercial districts, and promote the integration and development of personalized and experiential consumption. Kaiyuan Mediterranean Commercial Plaza has become a "business card" of the service industry in Songjiang New City. The square has won titles such as National Community Commercial Demonstration Community, National Food Safety Demonstration Street, National Intellectual Property Protection Standardization Market, and Shanghai Famous Brand. Dongding Shopping Center and Dongding 77 Square integrate commerce and business, and the international brand hotel Ronggang Wanyi Hotel has settled here.
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Zheng Qi, Deputy Director of Fangsong Street, stated that Fangsong Street is further optimizing its business environment, deepening the service of Songjiang's gold medal "shop assistants", improving the quality of public facilities in the street, and creating a core area of Songjiang New City that attracts talents from afar.