Dragon boat festival

Dragon boat racing was introduced to South Africa in 1992 when two beautiful flag-catching dragon boats were presented to Cape Town by its sister city I'lan County in Taiwan and delivered by the visiting Taiwanese Navy fleet.

Celebrating 20th anniversary of dragon boat racing in Gauteng

Thank you to the Taiwan Association SA, SA Taiwanese Hakka Association, Gauteng Dragon Boat Association (GDBA) and the City of Johannesburg for hosting their third annual 'Taiwanese Sport and Cultural Festival' (also referred to as the 'Dragon Boat Festival') at Florida Lake in Roodepoort on Sunday, 10th November 2019.

The inaugural regatta in Gauteng Province was held at Bruma Lake in Johannesburg during 1999. The '2001 Chinese Dragon Boat Regatta' featured 14 Chinese teams and 40 South African teams competing at Florida Lake on Sunday, 10th June 2001.

Article credit: Courtesy of 'Roodepoort Record' (Friday, 29th November 2019) newspaper p. 40/40. Read the full online article here.

Photo credits: Courtesy of 'Roodepoort Record' (Monday, 18th November 2019) newspaper / Halisje Crous. Click here to read the full digital article.

Thank you to Nan Hua Performing Arts Group and Chung Wah Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe for opening the event with their traditional drumming and lion dancing respectively. Watch their performances below:

Video credit: Courtesy of 'YouTube / Roodepoort Record'.

Thank you to:

Sherry Chen (President of African Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce);
Vincent Lin (Secretary General of Amitofo Care Centre); and
Matthew Chou (Representative of the Taipei Liaisons Office in SA and President of South African Dragon Boat Association {SADBA}).

for performing the traditional "Eyeing of the dragon' and 'Rose' ceremonies (the latter to cleanse the lake by chasing all the bad in the water away). A memorial paddle was also performed by saluting and tossing roses into the lake in remembrance of Gino Feng, the first chairman of GDBA, who tragically passed away in 2007.

Photo credit: Courtesy of 'Facebook / 李义荫 / Chisskop'. See more of his photography here.

Congratulations to the teams for finishing in following race positions:

Chinese division:

1st place: Taiwanese Traditional;
2nd place: Chung Wah; and
3rd place: African Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce (ATCC).

Premier B division:

1st place: Zandspruit Youth;
2nd place: Kainos (East Rand); and
Mad Waves (Sandton).

The premiere A division race was postponed to December due to heavy weather conditions.

Photo credit: Courtesy of 'Facebook / 李义荫 / Chisskop'. See more of his photography here.

Caring for the elderly

Thank you to Sherry Chen and Vincent Lin (Representatives of the African Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce) for generously donating thirty 10kg bags of milled rice to the Roodepoort Older Person’s Forum at the Eden Retirement Village in Helderkruin to be distributed among aged care facilities on the West Rand.

Article credit: Courtesy of ‘Roodepoort Record (Friday, 1st March 2019)’ newspaper p. 2/36. Read the full online article here.

Dragon Boat Festival (2018)

Thank you to over 100 members of the SA Taiwanese Hakka Association for celebrating Dragon Boat Festival on Sunday 17th June 2018.

Article credit: Courtesy of 'Hakka Affairs Council'. Click here to read the full digital article.

Taiwanese Sport & Cultural Festival (2017)

Thank you to the Taiwanese Association SA, SA Taiwanese Hakka Association, Gauteng Dragon Boat Association (GDBA) and City of Joburg for organising the inaugurial ‘Taiwanese Sport & Cultural Festival’, hosted at Florida Lake in Roodepoort on Sunday 11th November 2017.

Promotional material credit: Courtesy of 'Taipei Liaison Office in the RSA'.

“The aim of today’s event was to introduce the Taiwanese culture, as well as dragon boat racing, to the people.” ~ Vincent Lin, Secretary General of Amitofo Care Centre.

Traditional food stalls, drumming and martial arts demonstrations and 20 teams competing in dragon boat racing entertained hundreds of attendees.

Photo credit: Courtesy of 'Taiwan News' (Monday, 20th November 2017). Read the full online article here.

Well done to Amitofo Care Centre, Taiwanese Aboriginal Team and Taiwan Hakka Association finished in the top 3 positions in the Chinese division.

Article credit: Courtesy of 'Taiwan News' (Monday, 20th November 2017). Click here to read the full digital article.

Video credit: Courtesy of 'YouTube / CGTN Africa'.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival

Duanwu Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat or Double Fifth Festival, is held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.Enjoy eating zòngzi (glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) to commemorate the life and death of patriot and poet Qu Yuan.

Watch a short insert produced for the SABC1 TV programme ‘Bonisanani’ explaining the festival’s origin.