Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival in Chinese), a traditional festival in China, which falls on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar (June 22 in the Gregorian calendar this year), is approaching. Dragon boat races will be held across China to celebrate the festival. On June 2nd, the oldest existing dragon boat in China, the renowned "Yanbu Old Dragon", resurfaced in Nanhai, Foshan.

The Yanbu Old Dragon, now 591 years old, holds a prominent status among the dragon boats in the Pearl River Delta region. Its history can be traced to the 7th year of Xuande in the Ming dynasty (1432). The boat is made of kun-dian wood, measures 36.8 meters in length (excluding the dragon head and tail), accommodates 68 seats, and weighs about 4 tons.

Why are dragon boats buried in the muddy riverbed? It is because wooden dragon boats are prone to rot when kept in ordinary environments. In Guangdong, after participating in the races around the Dragon Boat Festival, people will bury the boats in the muddy riverbed, and leave them there until the following year's Dragon Boat Festival. This ensures their long-term preservation. The people of Guangdong consider dragon boats to be sacred, and they hold grand ceremonies when "lifting submerged dragon boats", which is a tradition passed down for centuries.

【视频】佛山：中国现存最老龙舟重出水面

中国传统节日端午节（中国历五月初五，公历6月22日）即将到来，端午前后中国民间会举行龙舟比赛庆祝节日。6月2日，中国现存最古老、广东久负盛名的龙舟“盐步老龙”在佛山南海浮出水面。

今年591岁的盐步老龙，是珠三角诸多龙舟中的“明星”。这条龙舟最早可追溯到明朝宣德七年（1432年），船身为坤甸木，全长36.8米（不含龙头、龙尾），座位68个，重约4吨。

为什么要把龙舟埋在河底的淤泥里？这是因为龙舟均为木制，放在普通的环境中容易腐烂。在广东，端午前后参加完比赛的船只会被埋在河底淤泥中，到下一个端午节再将其从河底挖出来，这样有利于长期保存。广东人认为龙舟是神圣的，在“起龙”时会举行盛大的仪式，数百年来，起龙出水的传统未曾改变。

文 | 羊城晚报全媒体记者 王泽宝 通讯员 沥宣
视频 | 羊城晚报全媒体记者 王泽宝 黎杰文
翻译 | 刘佳慧