The German boy bravely entered the Diejiao dragon boat drifting in Foshan, becoming the first foreign "Bazi"

2025 China (Foshan) Diejiao Dragon Boat Drift Competition is about to officially kick off. This event, known as "F1 on the Water", welcomed its first foreign contestant this year!

Michael from Germany is currently working as a German teacher in Shunde. Through the sharing of his girlfriend Ame (pseudonym), he learned about the dragon boat drifting race in Foshan, which was very interesting. After a field visit and experience at the Dragon Boat Base in Chenfeng Village, Diejiao, Michael decided to participate in this unique dragon boat drifting event.

Ame is a hardware design engineer and the person who attracted Michael from Augsburg, Germany to work and settle down in Foshan. Michael and Ame came to Chenfeng Village from Shunde on time every night, from 8:30 to 10:00, and only had a rest on Wednesday. Now, Michael has joined the Chen Fenglong fleet of Diejiao, becoming the first foreign "Bazi" to actively prepare for the June event.

Liu Yezhang, the manager of Chenfeng Village Dragon Boat Base in Diejiao and "Paizai" of Chenfenglong fleet, remembers that his first meeting with Michael was before the Spring Festival in 2025.

On January 25, Michael and Ame came to Chenfeng Village Dragon Boat Base and contacted Liu Yezhang through publicity posters outside the base. He hoped to visit the Dragon Boat Base with several foreign friends and experience the dragon boat and the dragon boat that took a dragon boat and slashed the dragon boat on the spot. By January 29, the first day of the first lunar month, what I wish will come true. Before leaving, Michael further told Liu Yezhang that he hoped to participate in the night training and become one of Chen Fenglong's fleet.

"At that time, I thought he was a joke." Liu Yezhang said that unexpectedly, after sending the invitation, on March 17, Chen Fenglong's fleet had its first training camp after the Spring Festival, and Michael arrived as scheduled. During the day-to-day night training, the German "bazi" always held the oars in his hand, started, locked water, and turned back, and was as serious as before. "It is more diligent than many local beginners."

Michael said that his hometown of Augsburg is famous for kayaking, and he often participated in it. He thought that the skills of kayaking and dragon boats were similar, but he did not expect that the difference was still very big after actual practice. After more than a month of training, Michael has gradually mastered the skills of sitting and kneeling dragon boats with the help of his teammates, and even learned a lot of Cantonese passwords. He said that he hopes to let more people understand the charm of dragon boat drift in Foshan and looks forward to the "World Cup" that belongs to dragon boat drift in the future. The river channel in Diejiao, Nanhai, presents a typical Lingnan water town style, winding and winding, with different widths and narrowness. The narrowest part only accommodates two dragon boats in parallel. Such a unique river terrain creates a unique dragon boat drifting track in the world. In 2017, the "Diejiao Bend Dragon Boat" was included in the list of the sixth batch of municipal intangible cultural heritage projects in Foshan.

Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the event entered the main stage. From May 31 to June 15, the four major competition areas of Diejiao Waterway will take turns to perform the peak showdown of the dragon boat drift. Each competition area has unique tracks and different challenges.

East Winning Division (S Bend), this is a difficult ceiling and the most exciting place. The 648-meter S curve requires 6 turns, and the dragon boat will perform extreme drift here; the Temple Division (L Bend) focuses on testing the tacit understanding of the team. Two sharp turns of 90° are also obstacles to "testing stone corners", so you may "cook a dragon boat" if you are not careful.

Tantou competition area (C curve), the large wooden stakes at the bend of the bridge greatly increase the difficulty of entering and exiting the bend. The dragon boat must complete the wonderful "C curve shift" here. In the Tea Base Division (J Bay), the straight racing and sharp bends feast the audience.

In addition, the June 15 challenge is also the highlight of this water feast. At that time, dragon boat enthusiasts and external challenge teams around the world will gather to challenge the charming C-turn and stage the "fast and passion" on the water.

In addition to the upgrade of the event itself, this year's event also creates an immersive experience for tourists. Focus on launching the "second home court" and joining the Foquyou platform to comprehensively improve the viewing experience with the "five new" gameplay - shopping well, eating well, buying well, watching well, and playing well.

During the event, the surrounding business districts will launch theme activities in a coordinated manner, and you can receive customized gifts and consumption coupons for the dragon boat racing area; there is also a limited Dragon Boat Boat Package, which combines festival hot spots to ignite taste buds; the event will work with the 6th Auto Food Carnival of "Renewal Plan·Enjoy the South China Sea" to create the South China Sea Dragon Boat Boat Boat Boat Festival, and Diejiao Water Town simultaneously launched the "Water Food Festival", allowing tourists to taste Lingnan flavors in one stop and attend the Dragon Boat Banquet. Here, tourists can taste Xijiang fresh fish, drink old fire soup, taste Hanlin Tanjia cuisine, eat secret braised goose, and enjoy a beer feast. Through cross-border cooperation and brand co-creation, the organizer also launched intangible cultural heritage digital and intelligent cultural and creative products to rejuvenate traditional culture.

At that time, the organizer will conduct ultra-high-definition, multi-view, and all-round event live broadcasts, and the six-day and six-game full-course high-energy courses. Diejiaowei, Diebei Cotton No. 2 Factory, Longchuanli, Longchuan Plaza, Times Car Town, Hongda Plaza and other major business districts and catering companies in Guicheng will simultaneously create an atmosphere of watching the game, set up a live viewing area and a Dragon Boat theme space. The audience can blow the air conditioner and watch the game with a comfortable large screen, and feel the warm atmosphere of the "second home court".

In addition, the event also cooperated with well-known IPs such as WBC Professional Boxing Championship and Xiaoqiang Media to launch a dragon boat theme linkage activity to create a new cultural and tourism experience.

(Yangcheng Evening News·Yangcheng School Comprehensive from Foshan TV Station, Foshan Municipal People's Government Official Website, Nanfang+)