Sturdy bodies in yellow, green and blue shirts row with fervent strength, splitting the mud-colored water and disturbing the hyacinths floating nearby.
Hundreds of tourists and locals line the riverbanks, echoing cheers across the water and sky.
It’s an unusual sight on the Bassac River in the Mekong Delta’s Chau Doc Town, which often hosts only plain old fishing vessels on a typical day.
But the scene is quite bustling on this occasion when the Victoria Chau Doc Hotel and An Giang Province’s Chau Doc Sport Center organize a boat race.
The annual race, ongoing for the past four years, attracts young men and women from all over the province to compete in dragon boat teams.
The event is held in conjunction with the Ba Chua Xu (Lady Xu) Festival, a well-known national festival that takes place from May 27-31.
Every year, thousands of pilgrims come to Chau Doc to make offerings to Lady Xu, the Goddess of Wealth.
Her sandstone statue, located in a temple on the Sam Mountain near the Cambodian border, has been a pilgrimage site for centuries.
The yearly festival includes various sport activities.
Rowing, a beloved sport in this town filled with rivers and channels, has become a fixture of the festival.
This year, the boat races offered two categories for men and women – the 500-meter and 1,000-meter contests.
In the woman competition, the host teams won both categories.
First-prize winners received VND2 million (US$125) each.
One participant said the sum is not extravagant, but more importantly the race presents an opportunity for local athletes to hone their rowing skills.
Reported by Phuong Anh |
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