Feature: Dragon Boat Festival held in Mauritius after three-year hiatus with applause, cheers

PORT LOUIS, June 20 (Xinhua) -- After a three-year suspension due to health restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dragon Boat Festival of Mauritius resumed Sunday with its 15th edition, attracting large crowds on the waterfront in the Mauritian capital of Port Louis.

Eight teams from all over Mauritius competed in a dragon boat race, the major event of the day. After three rounds of competitions, the Kwong Hwa Lion's Group and the Chung Tan Society from Rodrigues were declared joint winners of this year's race.

Organized for the first time in 2006, this festival is a major celebration of the Chinese community in Mauritius, just like the Spring Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, said Mike Wong, president of the Dragons and Lion Dance Federation in Mauritius, co-organizer of the festival.

"As early as in the 1900s, dragon boat demonstrations were organized at Les Salines, south of Port Louis. It was on the initiative of a former minister, Emmanuel Leung Shin, that the Dragon Boat Festival was born. He wanted this highly significant festival to have national resonance," said Wong.

The organizers have had to turn down a number of applications this year, with only eight teams selected for the final. "It's impossible to accept more applications because otherwise, we don't have enough time to organize elimination events," explained Wong.

In addition to the dragon boat race, there were also demonstrations and performances of Chinese culture, including dragon and lion dances, Chinese martial arts and traditional Chinese songs and dances, which won the applause of visitors and tourists from around the world.

A Mauritian national, who identified himself as Iqbal only, came to the seafront with his family for the festival. He said the sharing of culture is something that is experienced every day. "The Chinese community (in Mauritius) has very colorful festivals and China Town is always very lively. The Dragon Boat Festival is an opportunity to discover another facet of our compatriots of Chinese origin. The children loved watching the boat competitions."

Rajshree and her two daughters, who came specially from Mahebourg, at the other end of the island, were equally delighted. "We're used to having traditional pirogue regattas in Mahebourg. The Dragon Boat Festival is different, because the boats are not powered by sails, but by arms."

For Ralph and Zita, a tourist couple from Belgium on their first trip to Mauritius, it was a wonderful discovery. "We came to discover the capital, and then we came across this boat race. Back home, we have rowing competitions, but the boats aren't as pretty," admitted Ralph.

Originating in China thousands of years ago, the dragon boat race is one of many traditions in celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival, which commemorates the Chinese patriotic poet Qu Yuan (about 340 BC-278 BC) on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month of the Chinese calendar. The festival, now a national holiday in China, falls on June 22 this year. People always enjoy Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for the day.

The Indian Ocean island nation's Dragon Boat Festival was sponsored by the Dragon and Lion Dance Federation of Mauritius, in collaboration with the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage of Mauritius, the Chinese Cultural Center of Mauritius, and the Chinese Embassy in Mauritius.

"It's a festival that Mauritians look forward to every year," said Arvind Boodhun, director of culture at the Mauritian Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage. "It's a festival for the Chinese community first and foremost, but there are also other Mauritians from different communities who come to enjoy the Chinese culture that has been passed down from generation to generation."

"We have a population that comes from different horizons, different continents to make a united country today. It's important to celebrate this special heritage and build this cultural bridge," he said.