Dragon Boat Festival activities to strength cross-Straits exchanges

Players of the dragon boat contest fight for first place during the 2017 Cross-Straits Dragon Boat Festival. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

The 2018 Cross-Straits Dragon Boat Festival is set to take place from June 2 to 3 in Xiamen, Fujian province as part of the annual Cross-Straits Forum.

Themed on promoting traditional culture and enhancing cross-Straits relations, the festival will organize cultural forums, a poem day, a cross-Straits dragon boat fair, a dragon boat contest, and other activities.

A total of 53 teams have signed up for the dragon boat contest, of which 28 come from the Chinese mainland, 24 from Taiwan, and one consists of overseas students.

Taiwan's renowned inheritors of making traditional dragon boats will be invited to demonstrate how to make a traditional dragon boat during the festival.

A lion dance group from Taiwan will also be invited to stage a wonderful  performance for visitors and local residents at the opening ceremony of the festival.

The 2018 Cross-Straits Dragon Boat Festival is sponsored by the China Association of Social Sports Instructors, the Chinese Longzhou Association, and the Sport Bureau of Fujian Province.

The festival in Xiamen comes ahead of the actual Dragon Boat Festival, which this year falls on June 18.