History and Tradition

Legend has it that dragon boat racing originated in 300 BC when fishermen tried to save the poet Qu Yuan from drowning by beating drums and paddling their boats furiously to scare away the dangerous fish.

The poet and statesman had fallen out of favor with the Chinese royal court due to his reformist policies and was therefore banished to the provinces. He despaired because he could no longer do anything for his beloved country and people and decided to take his own life. He threw himself into the waters of the Mi Luo. Fishermen and farmers tried to save him. They paddled their boats out onto the river and tried to scare away the evil spirits and voracious fish with wild drumming. Unfortunately, in vain, the poet drowned. Since then, the tradition of searching for the poet’s spirit in the form of dragon boat races has continued in China.

The first modern dragon boat festival was held in Hong Kong in 1976. The wave swept over Europe via the USA, New Zealand and Canada.

In 1989, dragon boating was imported to Germany via Hamburg, with the first dragon boat festival on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the port’s birthday.

In the meantime, there are regular German championships, European championships and world championships.

In addition to the official championship events, there are an increasing number of fun and corporate regattas, where amateur teams from companies, institutions and clubs compete.

The first dragon boat race in Frankfurt took place in 1991 as part of the new concept of the Museumsuferfest. Since then, dragon boat racing has been gaining more and more (active) fans in Frankfurt and the surrounding area every year.

Dragon Boat Racing