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Dragon boat races aim to mark HK as sport's centre

There will be dragons in Victoria Harbour this week - but you are more likely to get scorched by the sun than these floating beasts.

The annual Dragon Boat Carnival gets under way today and then again from Thursday to Sunday, bringing in more than 6,000 competitors from around the world for a series of races.

The event includes two different championships, the International Dragon Boat Race and the International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships, which is being held in the city for the first time. It is the third Dragon Boat Carnival, but the international races have a long history in the city.

The first Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Race took place 36 years ago and involved just one non-local team, a crew from Japan. The event has since sparked worldwide interest in dragon boat racing, a Chinese folk tradition and a popular feature of last weekend's Tuen Ng festival.

Competitors from as far afield as Australia, France, Ghana and Russia will take part, along with locals and teams from the mainland.

James Tien Pei-chun, chairman of the Tourism Board, one of the event's organisers, said the carnival would showcase Hong Kong's capacity for hosting world-class, international sports events.

Dr Raymond Ma, chairman of co-organiser the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Association, said the event would consolidate Hong Kong's position as a world capital of modern dragon boat racing.

The best place to see the races, which take place on the Kowloon side of the harbour, will be from the 600-capacity viewing area on the Tsim Sha Tsui East Promenade or the San Miguel Beerfest at the nearby UC Centenary Garden.

The starting line for both sets of races will be near the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong Hotel and the finishing line will be near the Wing On Plaza shopping mall.

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