Tug of war, fancy dress contest mark splashy end to Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival
An unconventional tug-of-war competition on the water featured on the last day of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival today on the Tsim Sha Tsui side of Victoria Harbour.
The three-day festivities saw more than 4,000 paddlers from 14 countries or regions compete in 23 different races.
On a sweltering day that prompted Hong Kong weather officials to issue a “very hot” weather warning, six teams tested their mettle in the tug-of-war competition. Rival teams, each with eight paddlers, had to sit in opposite ends of one boat and had to paddle furiously in opposite directions, trying to move the boat to their side of the water.
It was also a race against time – they had to pull the boat to the winning end within one minute. As the feature was just for fun, there was no declared champion and the victorious team for each round was rewarded with cheers from the crowd.
Hundreds of spectators, armed with cameras and mobile phones, crowded along the edge of the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade to watch the race and cheer on the athletes.
Spectator Wilson Wong, who came to the carnival for the first time, said: “The tug-of-war race was spectacular. I have never seen anything like this before.”