Kathmandu, Dec 22: With the aim of promoting Nepal’s tourism, the Nepal-China friendly ‘Dragon Boat Race’ competition will be held from January 14. The second edition of the Dragon Boat Race competition to be held in the tourist capital of Pokhara will be held for two days.
It was informed in a press conference held here today that 20 groups including 11 from Nepal, eight from China and one from Singapore will participate in the competition.
The Dragon Boat Race will be held as a joint project of Gandaki Provincial Government, Pokhara Metropolitan City, Chinese Embassy in Nepal and Nepal Tourism Board and jointly organized by Nepal Dragon Boat Association, Pokhara Tourism Council and Pokhara Overseas Chinese Association.
In the 200 and 500 meter distance competition, the first winning group of both distances will receive 5000 dollars, the runner-up will receive 2000 dollars, and the third will receive 1200 dollars. Likewise, the organizers said that the remaining 17 participating groups will be given five hundred dollars per group.
The second edition of Dragon Boat will also be released. Under the leadership of the Chinese government, the competition was organized for the first time in Nepal in 2023. China has been organizing this kind of competition in 50 countries of the world.
At the press conference, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Chinese Embassy in Nepal, Wang Xin, said that it is expected that the competition will establish harmonious relations between the citizens of Nepal and China and promote Nepal’s tourism.
He said, “In addition to the cultural exchange between Nepal and China, the competition will be useful for developing Nepal’s tourism industry, promoting and developing Nepal’s tourism sector and sports at the international level. China is always positive to promote Nepal’s tourism.”
The executive head of the board, Deepakraj Joshi, mentioned that China is Nepal’s major tourist market and expressed his belief that the Dragon Vote Race will help in the promotion of Pokhara’s tourism. He said that the Dragon Boat Race has added a new attraction to Pokhara’s tourism.
Since 2009, UNESCO has considered this festival as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. On the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, the ‘Dragon Boat Festival’ is held in China.
There is a tradition of celebrating this festival for three to seven days in different provinces of China. The Chinese government has been giving public holidays to celebrate this festival.
In China, from children to the elderly, they celebrate this festival with joy. The Dragon Boat Festival, called “Duanwu Ji” in Chinese, is one of the four major festivals in China. In China, the dragon is considered as a positive force.
In 2019, 169,534 tourists from China and 60,874 tourists visited Nepal in 2023.
According to the Tourism Board, 92,848 Chinese tourists visited Nepal from January to November 2024. According to the organizer, a delegation including Chinese players will come to Pokhara by chartering a plane to participate in the competition.
