March Forward--Chinese and Foreign Students Dragon Boat Race

On the morning of May 14, the 3rd Dragon Boat Friendship Race for Chinese and Foreign Students of Huazhong University of Science and Technology was held by the Yujia Lake. Teachers and students from the School of International Education and the School of Physical Education attended the opening ceremony and cheered for athletes. The Jiaolong Team, composed of students from the School of Basic Medicine of Tongji Medical College, won the silver medal and was awarded the only best organization reward in the race.

When the whistle sounded, the lake splashing, drums beating loudly, slogans shouting like thunder, each dragon boat cleaved through the waves, and rushed out like arrows. The Jiaolong team successfully advanced to the final with the first preliminary result.

As a Chinese student from Xinjiang put it, “This is the most meaningful activity I participated this year. Although we were behind the champion less than one second, there is nothing to regret. To me, what really matters is I am doing my part and had gone all out for my team, and I enjoyed the process than the results, I will miss every moment from the rehearsal to the final round.”

A Gambian Student MUSA KORA said,“This game has broughtmeso much excitement, and it gave mean opportunity to understand the history of the Dragon Boat Festival.I enjoy interacting with both Chinese and international students. In thisrace, what I learned most isunity is strength.”

A girl student Zahrana JAFPOUR from Iran, admitted that she is always under great academic pressure and barely had time for relaxation, but this race provided her a chance to make a lot of new friends and realized the charm of teamwork. She was inspired to overcome all the difficulty to pursue her dream of being an excellent doctor.

Dragon Boat Racing is a representative of Chinese traditional sports which best reflecting Chinese culture in many respects. The spirit of sailing in the same boat and striving for the first place is a precious spiritual wealth.This Dragon Boat Friendship Race not only deepens the understanding of Dragon Boat Sports, enriches the extracurricular activities of students, but also enables them to tighten friendship. By means of unity and cooperation,the race inspired the students to carry forward the spirit of dragon boat and make their own contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.