The 13th Shanghai Region and 1st Yangtze River Delta (YRD) HEIs International Students Dragon Boat Race kicked off at East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) in Shanghai on June 10.
More than 800 international students from 32 universities in Shanghai and Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces in the YRD region took part in the competition.
Shanghai-based East China Normal University was crowned the champion of the race.
Shanghai Maritime University and Tongji University from Shanghai took the second prize, while Fudan University and Donghua University, also from Shanghai, as well as Nanjing Forestry University from Jiangsu, University of Science and Technology of China from Anhui and Zhejiang University from Zhejiang shared the third prize.
The event has been held at ECUST annually since 2008, except during the last three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This was the first time that teams - they came from six universities from Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces - from outside of the city were competing in it.
"Dragon boat racing requires good physical strength and endurance so we had to train rigorously every week to improve our speed and strength. We also learned how to overcome difficulties and challenge our limits during this process," said the captain of the ECUST dragon boat team who hails from Yemen.
"More importantly, I got to learn more about Chinese culture from this experience. This dragon boat race will be the most memorable moment out of all my experiences in China."
"I am very happy to participate in this traditional Chinese cultural festival activity because I can make new friends from all over the country. I hope to continue participating in this competition next year," said a Myanmar student from Jiangsu-based Nanjing Forestry University.
The competition was organized by ECUST and hosted by the Shanghai Education Commission and the International Student Education Research Committee of the Shanghai Education Association for International Exchange.
According to the organizers, the event combines dragon boat racing with the promotion of traditional Chinese culture and is one of the most important events on the campus calendar for international students in Shanghai universities.
