Celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival at the Guangdong Super League — a water-land connection between dragon boats and football!

Reporter Wang Wei reports With the fragrance of zongzi in the air and drums beating for dragon boats, the dream of football on green pitches ignites the city. The seventh round of the 2026 Guangdong Provincial City Football Super League (Guangdong Super League) coincided with the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Across the province, stadiums deeply integrated the thousand-year-old dragon boat tradition, Lingnan intangible cultural heritage, and urban football competition. During the holiday, a wave of nationwide viewing enthusiasm surged, with 18,000 spectators at a single match in Zhaoqing, and attendance rates soaring across all venues. Behind the bustling stadiums, a group of young volunteers gave up family reunions during the Dragon Boat Festival to serve on the front lines, safeguarding the events with their sweat and embodying the spirit of dedication. When the Dragon Boat Festival meets the Guangdong Super League, southern Guangdong witnesses a threefold picture of cultural heritage, nationwide celebration, and youthful responsibility, outlining a unique festive sports and cultural feast for Guangdong.

"Dragon boats racing on water, football competing on land" is the most distinctive feature of this year's Dragon Boat Festival in the Guangdong Super League. In the seventh round, each city's stadium deeply explored local Dragon Boat Festival culture, integrating dragon boat traditions, intangible cultural heritage performances, nursery rhymes, dances, and city exchanges into the matches. This allowed fans to immerse themselves in the Lingnan Dragon Boat Festival heritage while watching football, achieving a "water-land interaction" between dragon boat culture and football.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, the Dongguan home match took the lead by using dragon boat culture as the narrative thread for the entire event, creating an immersive Dragon Boat Festival performance. Dragon boat-themed elements were everywhere, with ball boys wearing trendy dragon boat bags entering the field in formation. Fans followed guided instructions to make rowing motions collectively, recreating the spectacular scene of hundreds of boats competing on the river. The event specially invited Feng Peichao, a national-level inheritor of dragon boat craftsmanship, along with his grandson, to kick off the match on stage. A handmade intangible cultural heritage dragon boat model, created by three generations of the family, was placed in the center of the field, showcasing a century of dragon boat craftsmanship to the audience.

During halftime, a hundred students from Dongguan Chengguan Primary School sang the original dragon boat nursery rhyme "I Am the Dragon Boat," merging the spirit of striving forward and sharing a boat with football determination. In the match between Dongguan and Meizhou that evening, Meizhou scored from a corner kick's second attack in the 78th minute, winning 1-0 and achieving a five-game winning streak. However, beyond the result, the dragon boat cultural performances became the most memorable highlight for the audience.

The match between Zhaoqing and Guangzhou began with Cantonese intangible cultural heritage, with the provincial-level intangible cultural heritage "Five Horses Patrolling the City" parade igniting the home atmosphere before the game. The traditional folk parade circled the stadium, attracting thousands of early-arriving fans to take photos. That evening, nearly 300 Guangzhou fans spontaneously traveled to Zhaoqing in groups. Many fans watched the local international dragon boat race during the day and then drove to the stadium, experiencing both dragon boat watching and football cheering in one day—a double Dragon Boat Festival delight.

Notably, before the match, 22 motorcycles from the Zhaoqing 430 Motorcycle Club formed an escort convoy, accompanying the Guangdong Super League Zhaoqing team bus through key cultural and tourism landmarks such as Zhaoqing Star Lake and Seven Star Crags. This connection between city scenery and football events leveraged sports traffic to boost urban tourism.

The same was true across other stadiums in the province, each featuring regional Dragon Boat Festival folk performances with local characteristics.

In the match between Qingyuan and Jieyang, the "Tea-Picking Brother and Tea-Picking Sister" cheerleading team, dressed in traditional folk costumes, cheered throughout the game. During halftime, Hakka songs and dances were performed, and gifts such as Yingde black tea and dragon boat intangible cultural heritage ornaments were exchanged, blending Qingyuan's landscape culture with Dragon Boat Festival customs. Before the Hakka derby between Heyuan and Huizhou, dragon dances, flower boat dances, and paper horse dances took turns on stage. Hakka sweethearts danced, and the two sides exchanged Zijin cicada tea and Luofu Mountain tribute rice, using shared Hakka culture to bridge the distance between cities.

In the Xijiang derby between Zhongshan and Jiangmen, students from Zhongshan East District Xiangshan Primary School performed the Cantonese nursery rhyme "Dragon Boat Flying Ten Thousand Miles." Jiangmen fans used paddle props collectively to simulate rowing in support, with drumbeats echoing through the stands. In the western Guangdong derby between Yangjiang and Maoming, the intangible cultural heritage fishing dance "Hao Han Lu Yin" closed the show, choreographed based on the work songs of Hailing boatmen, turning the resilient spirit of sea-goers into on-field fighting energy. The two sides exchanged seafood specialties and Dragon Boat Festival zongzi gifts, showcasing the warmth between neighboring western Guangdong cities.

Looking across all matches in this round, dragon boats are no longer just a water activity for the Dragon Boat Festival; they have become a festive symbol entering stadiums and merging with football events, forging a new path of "sports and cultural tourism integration" with Guangdong characteristics.

During the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday, residents' leisure travel demand surged. Key Western and Eastern Division matches, along with multiple city derbies in the Guangdong Super League, brought peak spectator traffic to each venue.

The biggest spectator peak in this round occurred at Zhaoqing Sports Center. On the evening of June 20, during the Western Division clash between Guangzhou and Zhaoqing, 18,060 spectators entered the stadium, setting a new attendance record for the Guangdong Super League Zhaoqing venue. The audience included local residents, Guangzhou fans who drove or took chartered buses, and football enthusiasts from surrounding counties. Coinciding with the Dragon Boat Festival and Father's Day, the organizers specially arranged for the Zhaoqing Duanzhou District Haiyun Children's Choir to perform "Really Love You." The warm melody moved the entire audience. Many families, with parents and children, sat in the stands, enjoying Zhaoqing steamed zongzi while cheering for their teams. The football stadium became a new leisure option for family reunions during the Dragon Boat Festival.

The mutual flow of fans between cities became a notable feature of this round's Dragon Boat Festival viewing craze. In the Guangzhou vs. Zhaoqing match, nearly 300 Guangzhou fans gathered outside the stadium two hours in advance. For the Hakka derby between Heyuan and Huizhou, when four buses full of Huizhou fans arrived, local Heyuan fans spontaneously lined up to welcome them. Fans from both sides shook hands and exchanged Dragon Boat Festival small gifts. In the Xijiang derby between Zhongshan and Jiangmen, fans from both cities sat in designated sections. Zhongshan fans, dressed in yellow uniforms, held high banners, while Jiangmen fans used dragon boat props for creative cheering. The friendly interaction showcased the "friendship first" atmosphere of the Guangdong Super League. Many local residents in Guangdong Super League cities said that in previous years, their Dragon Boat Festival leisure activities were limited to watching dragon boat races, dining, or short trips. This year, the addition of Guangdong Super League viewing, combined with competitive sports and traditional folk customs, made the festival experience richer and more diverse.

While thousands of fans gathered with their families to enjoy the Dragon Boat Festival football feast, a special group voluntarily gave up their holiday reunion time, rooted themselves in various roles at each Guangdong Super League stadium, and became indispensable guardians ensuring the smooth operation of the events. For this round, the Zhaoqing venue assembled 300 young volunteers from three local universities and government agencies, covering eight positions such as ticket verification, stand guidance, competition services, and cultural/sports support. Serving as flag bearers, ball boys, and on-site service staff, they stayed on the front lines, using their meticulous and thoughtful service to polish the city's civilized image, becoming a warm and touching scene at the Dragon Boat Festival stadium.

Before the Dragon Boat Festival matches began, the Zhaoqing Municipal Communist Youth League, together with the Zhaoqing Municipal Social Work Department, completed the full preparation for volunteers. Since the start of the Guangdong Super League in April this year, a total of 1,080 volunteer service participations have been recruited locally. For the key seventh-round Dragon Boat Festival matches, 300 young people from Guangdong Institute of Technology, Zhaoqing Medical College, Guangdong University of Finance, and Zhaoqing municipal government agencies were organized to participate. Pre-match training on service etiquette, event procedures, and emergency response was conducted uniformly to ensure each volunteer mastered their duties and could calmly handle large spectator crowds.

Volunteers were everywhere inside and outside the stadium, with clear division of labor and distinct responsibilities, covering the entire process from spectator entry to event conclusion. Ticket inspectors at the checkpoints stood guard all day, efficiently completing ticket verification and crowd diversion to avoid entry congestion. Stand service volunteers moved through the audience, patiently answering questions, distributing cheering props, guiding spectators to their seats, and actively assisting the elderly, children, and those with mobility difficulties.

Gu Weiqi, a volunteer from Zhaoqing who has served multiple times, said: "The first time I worked as a ticket volunteer, I was very nervous, worried that unfamiliar operations would delay spectator entry. By the third time serving during the Zhaoqing Dragon Boat Festival big match, I could calmly handle various emergencies." Flag bearer Feng Yongzhi, each time he lined up carrying the city team flag, felt a strong sense of responsibility: "Every time I raise the flag and walk forward, I hope to convey the good wish of 'victory from the start' and protect the stadium's ceremonial atmosphere." Ball boy Li Zimo has participated in three Guangdong Super League services, keeping his eyes on the ball's trajectory throughout the match, quickly returning the ball when it goes out of bounds to minimize interruptions and ensure smooth competition. From dusk when spectators began to arrive to late night after the match ended and the venue was cleaned, volunteers stayed on duty for over ten hours, unable to fully watch the game, and even giving up the chance to spend the Dragon Boat Festival with their families.

Not only in the Zhaoqing venue, but across all Guangdong Super League venues, thousands of volunteers silently dedicated themselves to ensuring the smooth running of the events. These young volunteers, from different schools and industries, originally had a full Dragon Boat Festival holiday but chose to serve on the field. Without the spotlight or cheers, they supported the entire tens-of-thousands-strong event with patience, meticulousness, and persistence. It is this touch of volunteer red flowing through the stadium that adds a warm and heavy human touch to the Dragon Boat Festival grand event born from the collision of dragon boat folk customs and football competition.

Dragon Boat Festival meets the Guangdong Super League; dragon boats merge with green pitches. As the league season progresses, the Guangdong Super League will continue to deepen the integration of urban culture, folk customs, and sports, using football as a bridge to connect 21 cities across Guangdong Province, making the green pitch a permanent stage for inheriting Lingnan heritage, gathering city energy, and showcasing youth responsibility.