2026 Sichuan Province's "hundred boats race to welcome the Dragon Boat Festival" was held in Nanchong

On the afternoon of June 18, the sound of drums on the river surface of Jiangnan chonggaoping section of Jialing shook the sky. The 2026 Sichuan provincial "hundred boats race to welcome the Dragon Boat Festival" centralized exhibition activity themed with "fragrant zongzi in Bashu · Jiashui Dragon Boat Race" opened here. The 18 dragon boat teams and nearly 500 athletes of the province gathered in the "No. 1 meander in the world" and presented a cultural and tourism feast of water racing and folk experience for citizens and tourists on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival.

"Finishing touch!" at two o'clock in the afternoon, along with the folk performance "Silk rhyme dragon race to Gaoping", relevant provincial and municipal leaders and model workers' representatives wrote together to highlight the dragon boat and pray for good weather. The starting gun started, and the 500m straight race officially started. On the river, hundreds of boats vied for water, the drummers' rhythm was sonorous, and the rowers fought hard to be the first. The splashing waves merged with the cries of nearly 10000 spectators on both sides of the Strait. After several rounds of fierce competition, the Chaoyong Nanchong dragon boat team won the first prize, and the Guangyuan Wangcang County team and Meishan Qingshen dragon boat team won the second and third prizes respectively.

In addition to the intense racing, the "pattern" on the water is also eye-catching. The water jumpers and motorboats took turns to perform the stunts, and the "duck snatching" segment of the Dragon Boat Festival originated from the Northern Song Dynasty pushed the atmosphere to a climax. The players chased and fluttered in the water, which attracted the audience on the shore to laugh and cheer.

The dragon boat race not only brings out passion, but also brings fire to the surrounding cultural and tourism consumption. This event adopts the "1+n" mode. The main venue is open to the public free of charge. Five characteristic scenes, including beer Music Carnival, non relic cultural and creative market and Jialing River night tour, are launched around the event. In the Wanda riverside square, more than 60 boutique booths from 21 cities and prefectures in the province are lined up. Tourists visit the market, taste intangible cultural heritage and feel the charm of Bashu culture at a close distance.

Not only in Gaoping, Nanchong planned more than 40 cultural and tourism activities during the Dragon Boat Festival. The Tianfu Intangible Cultural Heritage Week in Langzhong ancient city, the real-life interaction in Zhu De's hometown, and the performance of Yilong's old street stories, etc. It is worth mentioning that the 8th Sichuan young opera actors' competition was also held at the same time. The two provincial events, one action and one silence, provided citizens and tourists with rich holiday cultural choices.

The event gathers popularity and adds vitality to consumption. In order to transform "Dragon Boat flow" into "consumption increment", Nanchong City has specially invested 500000 yuan of Dragon Boat Festival cultural tourism consumption coupons, linked Langzhong ancient city, Zhu De's hometown and other scenic spots to launch free tickets and discounts, and superimposed catering retail consumption coupons and up to 20000 yuan of automobile trade in subsidies. According to preliminary estimates, this Dragon Boat Festival whole region series of activities is expected to drive Nanchong cultural tourism and related consumption to exceed 100 million yuan.

The popularity is booming, and the service guarantee is keeping up. Gaoping District makes every effort to ensure the travel experience of tourists by optimizing the viewing area along the river, adding temporary parking spaces, and issuing civilized initiatives. Nanchong is transforming the "event flow" into an "economic increment" to promote the integrated development of culture, commerce and tourism with real fireworks and human feelings. (Yi Qinghai, tangmin, provided by Nanchong Municipal Bureau of culture, radio, television and Tourism)