Dragons, Myth and Legend!

Hot on the heels of St George, dragon-inspired legend of a different kind comes to Downham Market on Sunday 13th August with the staging of the spectacular Downham Market Water Festival and Dragon Boat Event at Hythe Bridge, Downham Market. This exotic Chinese festival has an ancient history and is a re-enactment of a tragic event that took place more than 2000 years ago in the kingdom of Chu.

Legend has it that falsely accused of treason and exiled by jealous rivals in the government, despairing warrior poet, Qu Yuan, through himself into the Mi Lo River. Local fishermen rowed out to save the drowning poet and tried to rescue him from vicious fish by beating the water with their paddles. But their attempts failed and every year in Hong Kong a Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat) Festival is held as a mark of respect for the fishermen’s frantic efforts and to commemorate the tragic death of Qu Yuan.

The dragon boat’s fierce looking dragon’s heads were added later to ward off evil spirits and in Hong Kong special dumplings are eaten to represent the dumplings that were thrown in to the river to stop the fish eating the mighty Qu’s body.

If all this fires your imagination, there is still time to get a team of up to 11 people together and sign up for the Downham Market Dragon Boat Challenge. No previous experience is required and the Festival promises a fantastic day out for all the teams and their families. The boating will be supplemented by plenty of fun activities on the bank including arena events and stalls.





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