China News Service, Yuanling, September 25 (Tang Xiaoting and Qu Yun) The 25th coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival. The 2026 World Rowing Federation Dragon Boat World Cup and Yuanling Traditional Dragon Boat Race will start on the banks of the Yuanjiang River in Yuanling, Huaihua, Hunan, the "hometown of traditional dragon boats in China".
This international Category A dragon boat race certified by the World Paddling Federation was held in Yuanling for the first time. 24 international dragon boat teams from 16 countries and regions around the world and 3 neutral athlete teams joined hands with 28 domestic traditional dragon boat teams to paddle against the waves.
"The competition brings together strong teams from all over the world and can compete with the world's top players. This is a rare learning experience. We will also experience the charming Chinese dragon boat culture first-hand during the exchange and competition." SHIVA, a member of the Iranian national dragon boat team, said in an interview with reporters.
As one of the first places in the country to be awarded the title of "Hometown of Traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Races", the Yuanling Traditional Dragon Boat Race has been selected as a representative national intangible cultural heritage project. Tracing back to history, the Yuanling dragon boat civilization can be traced back to more than 5,000 years ago. The ancestors used boats to worship Panhu, the ancestor of the Five Streams. The folk customs were inherited more than 3,000 years earlier than the dragon boat customs commemorating Qu Yuan. The ancient Miao song "Manshui Shenge", which says "People race boats to worship Qu Yuan, I row dragon boats to worship Panhu", has been sung from generation to generation to this day. When Qu Yuan was banishing Yuanli, he witnessed the grand scene of the ferry race in Chenhe River. In "Nine Songs", he wrote the famous lines of "Riding a flying dragon to the north" and "Riding a dragon boat to ride on the thunder", which made the image of Yuanling's dragon boat recorded in the Songs of Chu.
After thousands of years of accumulation, Yuanling has formed a complete and unique dragon boat folk custom system such as stealing materials for shipbuilding, launching the boat, clearing water, appreciating reds, and grabbing reds. The ancient motto "I would rather lose a field than a pole boat" condenses the dragon boat spirit of unity, hard work, and courageous striving for the first place, which is deeply engraved in the blood of the people of Yuanling.
It is understood that this event is the highest-level and largest international dragon boat event hosted by Yuanling. The competition will be held from September 25th to 27th in the Yuanjiang waters of Yuanling County Dragon Boat Plaza and the Eryoushan Youshui waters. The competition items are rich and diverse, covering multiple categories of 8-seater and 10-seater dragon boats, with 200-meter, 500-meter, and 2,000-meter races. For the first time, the 14-kilometer dragon boat marathon event is innovatively launched, taking into account international standard competition and local traditional dragon boat characteristics.
From September 28th to 30th, Yuanling will also host a traditional dragon boat race. Yuanling's traditional dragon boat has a unique shape. The hull is about 25 meters long. A fleet of 46 to 48 people work together in division of labor. The rafters, drummers, and boatmen each show their unique skills. Various strokes such as "snowflake capping" and "red phoenix rising to the sun", as well as drums with rich layers such as river-traveling drums, competition drums, and victory drums, will fully display the shocking style of thousands of years of folk customs on the Yuanjiang River.
Yuanling has a long cultural heritage and beautiful mountains and rivers. As the hometown of Qianzhong County in the Chu and Qin Dynasties, it is the location of the Chinese Book Mountain, where "learners are rich in five things and books are proficient in books". 24 ethnic minorities thrive here, and multi-ethnic cultures blend and coexist. The territory is home to national ecological business cards such as Jimuxi National Nature Reserve and Wuqiangxi National Wetland Park, with a forest coverage rate of 76.2%. National geographical indication products such as Jietan tea, Wuqiangxi fish, and Daheping black pig are well-known everywhere. In recent years, Yuanling has adhered to ecological priority and green development. The county economy has made steady progress, the urban and rural landscape has changed with each passing day, and people's livelihood and well-being have continued to improve. It has successfully established a national ecological civilization construction demonstration zone and a national health county. The business environment has continued to be optimized, the cultural tourism industry has flourished, and the Chinese Book Mountain IP has become popular in the industry.
Gao Jingsheng, deputy secretary of the Huaihua Municipal Committee and acting mayor of Huaihua, said in his speech that sports is a common language across national borders, and friendship is an important bridge connecting people's hearts. "We insist on using competitions to promote tourism and tourism to highlight culture. We are not only committed to building this event into a new platform for Huaihua to promote in-depth integration of culture, tourism and sports and empower high-quality development, but also hope that through the event, we will open up a new starting point for expanding opening to the outside world and actively embracing the world."
