Very Belated: Dragon Boat Festival!

Last Wednesday, June 12th, was Dragon Boat Festival (端午节,  Duānwǔ Jié)! It's a national holiday here in Taiwan. I had heard a little bit about it, including in my Chinese textbook, but had never before had the chance to join in the festivities. So my friend from Williams and I decided to go to the river and see what was going on.

We got up bright and early that morning and got on the subway stop nearest to the university. The races were held at Dajia Riverside Park, which is a bit of a ways away. We had to take the MRT (Taipei's very nice and clean subway) for a while, change trains, and then get on a bus. Although we missed our stop, there were a bunch of middle-aged women on the bus who were very kind about helping us find the way. We ended up having to cross a bridge to get back to the side of the river where the fun was. But from the bridge, there was a good view of the dragon boat races!

As seen from the bridge over the river.

The day was somewhat overcast, but still pretty hot and humid. That's Taipei for you. I still think it was a nice day.

This picture makes it look less well-attended than it was. There were more tents!

 There were several boat race divisions; I think it was open, masters, and high school. We saw teams fielded by high schools, universities, companies, and other organizations. The announcements were given in both Chinese and English, which surprised me. There were certainly other foreigners there too, many of whom were speaking English, but not in huge numbers.

The crowd on the riverbank included people of all ages. There were plenty of families with little kids, and fun activities for the kids to try, like practicing the drums that the rowing teams use to keep time! But it wasn't a "kiddie" event by any means; there were plenty of younger and older adults having a good time too. I didn't see any alcoholic beverages for sale, but there still might have been. Some people brought their own, but no one seemed to be drunk or rowdy.

From the riverbank, I could get a closer look at the boats as they went past.

加油！

 

If anyone wanted a break from watching the rowers, there were lots of food stalls serving some things I'd seen before and plenty I hadn't! Some of it was concession-stand fare you'd see in the States, like fries, ice cream, and fried chicken. But you could also buy grilled squid-on-a-stick, fresh-made fruit drinks, and stinky tofu, which does smell quite strong. I'm told it's an acquired taste, but I think I'll try it at least once before I leave.

For lunch I bought something I'd never tried before- at least not in this form - which turned out to be delicious. It was a rolled-up green onion pancake with egg, cheese and corn folded into the middle. I'd had the pancake （葱油饼, cōng yóubǐng, if I'm not mistaken) but I had no idea it could be made with filling! Highly recommended.

Slightly blurry deliciousness.

There was one snack I wish I'd tried, and hope to at my next opportunity. The elderly man running the stand had a bunch of thin rice crepes laid out on a table. He used a large grater to shave flakes off a huge brick of peanut brittle, and then spread them out over the rice crepes. Then he topped the peanut brittle with fresh cilantro and your choice of ice cream flavors! We asked a woman who'd bought some whether it was good, and she said it was. It's on my list of Taiwanese snacks to sample.

Peanut brittle ice cream rolls!

Possibly the coolest stand, though, belonged to a guy who was selling glass ornaments. He had a torch set up right there and was making more items while a small crowd gathered to watch! I've always thought glassworking was pretty amazing stuff, but after my Winter Study class on it I'm even more impressed by the craft.

Those apples must be hard to make. Thick glass pieces are tricky.

There was a dragon boat set up for people to take pictures on. I didn't pass up the chance.

I wonder if this boat was used in last year's races.

We left around noon, when it got sunny and hotter. I did miss out on a couple of traditions, like eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and balancing an egg. Right as we were on our way out, we passed a long line of people waiting for eggs. I assumed at the time that the eggs were a famous tasty snack. Turns out (at least according to the Wikipedia article linked above) that if you can make an egg balance on one end at noon, it's good luck! Maybe next year I'll be back to give that a try...