Tuesday 22 June 2010

Frankfurt Dragon Boat Festival










FuFu Life in Frankfurt - Part Twenty Three
29th May 2010 | Frankfurt Dragon Boat Festival

As one of Europe's major business cities, Frankfurt is home to some of the largest international festivals in Europe, one of them is the yearly Dragon Boat Festival. Also due to the 15% of foreign population are from Asia, Frankfurt has supported and encouraged the dragon boat fascination since 1991. The aim of this festival is to forge links between Frankfurt's international partner cities and the great dragon boat festivals like those in London, Penang, Toronto, Hongkong and New York.

The Dragon Boat Festival, now in its 19 years, is an annual tradition for many Frankfurter. With over 100 Dragon Boat teams and over tens of thousands attendees who train for the races with colleagues, friends and family, the festival is a big happening. It will always be held around end of May along the Main river where everyone could enjoy the free festivities include watching the regatta, live music in the evening, and plenty of food vendors.

Sore before really getting myself busy with assignments, i took the opportunity to take part in this festival since the weather was great. Well, was just physically giving my support to the participants snapping pictures here and there. It was indeed a fun filled event that brings sports, team spirit, community spirit and the Chinese culture to everyone. I was absolutely impressed as this culture is truly promoted and appreciated by the German and other foreigners.


























































































































































The next international event.

To get a feel for the event, check out these videos.

Walking from the ending point till the starting point.


Attention~ Go!


Yeah, check out which team did it!

128 comments:

Caroline said...

wow! great event! i only remember last few years there is dragon boat competition held at here. :)

fufu said...

Caroline Ng May Ling : huuh? not every year one?? anyway wish you it would be a annual event soon ya :)

uLi.佑莉 said...

wow! "ang mo" also got dragon boat festival ar? Hehe......so many peoples and so many teams! :)

Ken said...

Good to see Chinse cultures around the world. I've ust missed it in KK, Sabah on last weekend!

>.<

fufu said...

uLi.佑莉 : yeah very happening here ya... i was surprised too... great to know it


Ken : hahaha i thought putrajaya had its first international dragon boat festival too...no?

keeyit said...

Nice photos on dragon boats

fufu said...

keeyit : if not because of the poor lens i got, those pictures will be nicer i guess...

SuwEi said...

glad to see that the culture is so being promoted there.Maybe next time u can join the race as well:P

fufu said...

SuwEi : hahaa yeah i will here also next year... see if i can take part or not... haha

William said...

I can't stop saying DrachenBoot. :P

fufu said...

William : hahaha that's german =p

Kenny Mah said...

German dragon boats! That's amazing... I guess everything Chinese is big these days. :)

peteformation said...

Cool, didn't know that they have similar festival there as well.

TG said...

Hey, I didn't see anyone eating rice balls.. ah, no real dragon boat festival then :P

fufu said...

Life for Beginners : yeah german dragon boat...but quite similar to other dragon boat festival in london, toronto and new york... but well frankfurt has weak chinese community ><


peteformation : yeah me too... was shocked when i knew they have this every year... haha lucky


MKL : hahaha just the dragon boat races :) nothing related to the rice dumpling :p though i wish they have it here... haha

豪少 said...

It feels special to see Caucasians with the dragon boats. Nice!

fufu said...

豪少 : hahaha thanks to the globalisation :)lol

escape said...

i never tried riding or joining a dragon boat team. it looks cool. i do have a friend though who belongs to a team of rowers.

ironman! i might attend the ironman 2010 in the philippines but not joining as a participant. maybe just to cover.

rainfield61 said...

It is very funny indeed watching at the dragon boats but talking about world cup 2010.

Portugal won the match against North Korea 7:0.

What a game.

Fion Chow said...

i thought you will have some dumpling eating session or you'll make yourself some dumplings..xD LOL

Feeling said...

wow! i duno frankfurt has this dragon boat festival..i thought this is only for chinese culture..lolz

[SK] said...

wow!! surprise they have dragon boat festival there huh!! i don't even see it here in KL, we only eat the dumplings to celebrate..

fufu said...

the donG : hahaha teamwork is very important i must say... if not it's hard to win ya...also need a lot of stamina =p ironman?? hahah i wanna take part too...but gotta get ready for my final presentations for the semester...


rainfield61 : hahaha because it's the season now... for both important historical festival and sport event... yah i heard the players are not intend to go back to north korea...


Fion Chow : erm i didnt have dumplings >< i wanna eat...

fufu said...

Feeling : yeah some of the megacities really have this awesome festival celebrated internationally =p because of the strong chinese community...


SK : i heard putrajaya is going to have an international dragon boat festival ya... not??

单身汉 said...

你的生活多姿彩,拍那么多照,不累吗?

fufu said...

单身汉 : 哈哈哈哈 又不用錢的...多拍一點也無所謂... 不然會後悔...加上要好好地善用我的相機 哈哈

小雪 said...

一时反应不过来 龙舟已经是国际化的活动
还蛮有规模的呢~~

fufu said...

小雪 : 對呀已經很國際化了 :) 但是沒有粽子吃 >< 很慘咯

Unknown said...

我還真的想不到海外也有這樣的龍舟.

fufu said...

館長《志強 cK》 : 現在你知道咯 =p hahaha

Akira 思胜 said...

想不到那边也是有如此的佳节呢!

edward said...

Hi, glad to see Dragon Boat Festival in Frankfurt. As you said hope it would be an annual event held at there. BTW, in your pictures how come I didn't see any Chinese participated in the event? It's more meaningful and encouraging if we Chinese also play a role in promoting the event, right? :)

fufu said...

Akira 思胜 : 對呀 dragon boat festival已經是國際化的活動了...但是就是沒有bak zhang吃 >< 可悲...


edward : yeah it;s an anual event here in frankfurt... and well yeah not many chinese participated but still there's few.. i guess there's a chinese team... and i didnt stay long for the whole day, just was there for couple of hours :) anyway will stay late next year if i have time to visit again... haha... erm it's an international event.. the authority is already spending alot of money to promote the festival haha

BB黑骑士 said...

I never know Dragon Boat is in western country too.....cool...

fufu said...

BB黑骑士 : hahaha it exists since over twenty years ago... lucky you came here if not you would know it later... :)

micki said...

I love their logos on the t-shirts! I thought the "Fraport" design is very cool and creative! Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

oLive said...

woow.. cool ler!!!
chinese cultures, Dragon Boat but celebrated by ang mo...

Sebastian Workshop said...

Your dragon boat really got dragon 1......in February, wellington organized dragon boat competition as well.But, their dragon boat was without dragon. Your photos reminded me my sadness. I accidentally deleted all my photo which I accumulated photo of several events in Wellington......Crying TT

~仪仪妈咪~ said...

在这里还没机会看到赛龙船呢,呵呵~~

Che-Cheh said...

Why Germany so exiting one?

So you're conquering Latin America next? Jealous wei. Haha

Yvonne Sam said...

do u know that msia also got this festival. It held @ Putrajaya on last weekend. I didn't attend because back to hometown to celebrate Father's Day :)

海市蜃樓 said...

估唔到鬼佬都會扒龍舟,咁佢哋會唔會包粽食啊?

小闷瓜 said...

忙完了吗~ 你的assignments
加油,谢谢你的介绍
让我的知识又增加啦=p

fufu said...

micki : yeah that fraport = frankfurt international airport, each team has their own tshirts for the staff(participants), cool right? anyway it's just the race here in frankfurt... no rice dumpling ><


oLive : yeah right, just the boat race, they dont really know the story behind i bet, because no rice dumplings here >< sad


Sebastian Workshop : hahaha dragon boat without dragon head and the tail?? how can it be?? anyway next time gotta backup your pictures ok? i know the pain when the pictures are gone...

fufu said...

仪仪妈咪 : 對呀 現在很多中國的傳統在西方國家很受歡迎的...不知道中秋節會如何...但是我會在巴西...讓我去看看然後跟你們分享 :)


Che-Cheh : yeah will be heading to brazil next month :) hahaha actually frankfurt is very happening, just i dont have more time to explore every little single festival...


yvonne : yes, i heard the one malaysia dragon boat festival held at putrajaya was kinda good... anyway you can go there next year ya :) hahaha

fufu said...

海市蜃樓 : 他們當然會咯 :) 功夫,空手道等等他們都會...這個划龍船難不倒他們 :) 但是就沒有粽子吃 >< 只是龍船比賽罷了...


小闷瓜 : hahaha 我的assignments 還有一點點就完成了 :) 那個時候就可以出外拍照了 :) 來看我的部落就會有收穫了...記得常來噢

Bengbeng said...

i saw ladies taking part. that is good. her ein Sibu is all men affair still

இ Baŋäŋaz இ said...

Wowie all the 'mat salleh' doing the Chinese traditional Dragon Boat Race so presume its a yearly affair. Thankz for sharing an interesting event and all the pixz.

嘿嘿 said...

端午水上逗,
越洋过大洲,
屈老泉下慰,
全球赛龙舟。

fufu said...

Bengbeng : yeah it's quite different here in european countries :) they are very concern about the equalities :p hihihi females really show their interests lol


Bananazஇ : yeah it's my pleasure to share everything here with you guys ya :) hehehe and yeah it's impressive to see them working hard for the races :p even those most of us not really into that festival... right? haha

fufu said...

嘿嘿 : haha 講得好 :)
屈老泉下慰...
但是沒有粽子 ><
希望他老人家不會嫌棄就好 haha

十六 Keaton said...

原來德國也有人劃龍舟
可惜那些選手的衣服穿太多了
哈哈哈

fufu said...

十六 : 對呀 不止德國
其他大的城市都有龍舟比賽...
但是粽子可能沒有...因爲龍舟比賽比較重要
衣服很多嗎??? 哈哈哈
可能還是很冷吧 =p 因爲五月還是春天哦
anyway 現在還是很冷 ><
應該開始熱的...但是天氣真的怪怪的...

lock said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
lock said...

never thought that our chinese tradition has been spreading so well in germany!

fufu said...

lock : yeah now you knew it ya =p hahaha

I AM A BLOGGER said...

fufu bro, u finally come bek~~~
gone for so long!
hahaha, busy?! All the best in ur work!

btw, great event thre~~still quite weird to see Dragon boat festival in foreign country./hahahah~~

fufu said...

Xjion89 : yeah i am back ya :) finally... but still gotta be away for 1more week as i still have 20% left need to be done by this weekend =p hahaha... well i have seen many pictures of similar festival from toronto, london and new york, so it's alright for me, but when i was there myself was impressed over their spirit... haha =p will go again next year if i have the time =p

Anonymous said...

We had similar thing in London some weeks ago.
But I think they called it "Hong Kong Festival"!! Ha ha...

I miss Nyonya dumplings a lot!
My hometown is very close to Singapore.
Singaporean Nyonya dumplings are very good.
White glutinous rice + sweet pork in the dumplings.

ちょっと肉まんみたいです!
ドイツ人はドラゴンボートのことも知っているんですね?!

fufu said...

1ondoncalling : sadly we dont have dumpling here in frankfurt >< only the boat races >< anyway how can they named it as hongkong festival??? omg... correct them please! write the letter to the mayor pls!

isnt glutinous rice white?? hahahha anyway i havent tried nyonya dumplings... never heard of it also...but would like to give it a try! probably 2yrs later... hahaha well i bet they dont know about the history of the festival... >< they just want an excuse to have such international being held in frankfurt...

四月 said...

wao, it is just so great. Those "ang mo" even more passionate than chinese...

fufu said...

四月 : yeah...they are very interested into the festival or i would say they really enjoyed the boat racing =p hahaha shame on those who dont really like dragon boat festival in our country ya...

GeOk kEE好きな♡ うち said...

Never know that Frankfurt also have dragon boat festival...Not bad huh =)

fufu said...

GeOk kEE好きな♡ うち : hahaha i think the mayor has to pay me for promoting frankfurt to everyone :p many more of such event here... but just i dont have time to check out all... ><

Glennis said...

Fantastic event wish I could watch it myself one day. I do like the wee dragons on the front of the boats.

fufu said...

Glennis : i think you should go to malaysia...we have very good fragon boat festival ya :) hihihi and but... not very common for a woman to be the drummer, then you should come to frankfurt =p

Anonymous said...

どうして香港祭りと言われたか僕も分からない。

ニョニャのちまき食べたことない??
おいしいよ!

2年後、帰国することにする?
長い待ちじゃないん?

fufu said...

1ondoncalling : ハハ なぜ日本語なの?
俺のレベルをチェックするつもり?
まあまあ多分香港の団体が担当するちゃう?
にょにゃちまき食べたことないよ
いつ御馳走する?はは
そうですね。。。来年の九月に帰る予定
だから二年(2012)に待つしかないよ :)

vialentino said...

wow...first time i see in western country got dragon boat festival...very huge event indeed.

btw, dylan been losing weight since he active ler...but he grows taller...

Harshi said...

Wow.. what an event! The dragon boats are really beautiful. A great sport to show team spirit and it's even more amazing to see how they all work in absolute sync without dropping their stamina one bit.

Awesome set of pics and videos Fufu!

Mandy Ling said...

Wow, mat salleh Dragon boat. :p

pusangkalye said...

there it is...the event you and little fufuf attended. I never really thought Europeans would be into dragon boat racing but I guess it's kinda refreshing to see one or two of those boats in these European rivers......

anthony said...

here in Brisbane also has dragon boat competition
but i think the contestants are high school students, not that mature as the ones in your pictures :p

fufu said...

vialentino : yeah reading my blog is always good right? as you will see many cool stuff haha... yeah hope to stay longer next year and if i got a better lens, probably can snap better pictures :) glad dylan is growing lol cant wait to play with him next year haha


Harumi : yeah the dragon boats ate really nice :) but i think they are going to use the same boats again next year hahaha thanks for watching the videos ya... glad you like them and the pictures as well .... haha


Mandy Ling : yeah mat salleh dragon boat festival...with no dumplings ><

fufu said...

pusang kalye : i didnt bring little fufu out though >< hahaha anyway it's nice to see dragon boat racing on the river here in geramny :) and most of the participants are non-asians :)



安东尼 : wow good to know that brisbane has dragon boat festival and for high school students?? well, something new to me =p hahaha anyway the festival in frankfurt has high school, uni and corporate teams :)

lechua said...

hey sounds like fun! so many teams participating... and just being there in the atmosphere.

fufu said...

lechua : yeah the festival was started from 10am until 7pm... non-stop :) i was only there for an hour... but will be there longer next year :p

发白日梦^^ said...

其实我长得那么大,还没见过龙船比赛耶!哈哈~

fufu said...

发白日梦^^ : 真的嗎??? 那就要去看咯
明年putrajaya應該會再舉行的哦
記得一定要去看看哦 :)

Laura said...

o__o wow... tough i live near frankfurt i never watched the drachenboot festival. maybe i should go next year?! :3

fufu said...

Laura : yeah you should come next year Laura!!! i will be there also next year... hahaha probably you will be seeing me taking pictures and videos here and there... lol

NicoleB, Egypt said...

You get to see truly amazing things!
That must have been one grand spectacle :D!
Love the shots!

fufu said...

NicoleB : yeah it's awesome!! glad i could be there last month :) because it's my first dragon boat festival so far :p will be back next year again... and stay longer for more fun activities XD

猪公主 said...

wow...seem like those Caucasians gt more passion on Dragon Boat!!! sure very awesome 1 if watch live =)

fufu said...

猪公主 : yeah they really enjoyed the festival but i doubt they know the story behind it as dumplings not sold here... just the boat racing... that's it... anyway still glad the chinese festival is nicely promoted here ya =p and i will be visiting again next year...because wanna stay longer for other event :) like concert and games...

bluedreamer27 said...

we also have this kind of synchronize boating sport here in Phil but i always failed to watch it...

bluedreamer27 said...

i wonder how it feels when you are one of the paddlers

bluedreamer27 said...

have a great day fufu and happy blogging

bluedreamer27 said...

by the way where's your cute little fufu here??

fufu said...

bluedreamer27 : hahaha you still remember my little fufu :) he says hi to you =p yeah dont miss the boat festival next year ok? i too wonder how you look like if you are one of the paddlers lol must be the magnet as all attention will be focused on you ya... happy blogging to you too =)

shloke said...

WOW! Asian compose 15% of the Germany population??? That's a whooping 12.3 million people!!! This dragon boat festival is a perfect platform to foster ties and understanding among different racial and ethnic groups. Wonderful effort!

Looks like a fun event. I can see delicious ice-creams and cute poodles :) Oh darn, I missed Putrajaya 2nd International Dragon Boat Festival.

Cheers!

fufu said...

shloke : yeah 15%, because frankfurt is an international city here, not the whole population of the nation :) erm yeah at least they know it's from china and well so far i think they enjoyed the team spirits through this festival =p... hahaha dont miss the 3rd putrajaya dragon boat festival ya XD ice cream? erm so expensive, still my italian gelato is the best :p

Anonymous said...

I've never witnessed a dragon boat competition.. it must have been really nice.. hmm..

窮光蛋市長 said...

哇……太棒了!从活动中增进感情!

fufu said...

Shirleen : really? i think there's plenty of similar festivals throughout malaysia...like penang putrajaya and sibu... try to be there next year ok? hahaha


穷光蛋市长 : 對呀這種精神值得我們學習咯 :)

Ensurai said...

This is really amazing!! Brings back a lot of memories...we have Regatta (English term) in Sarawak.

einrihs_shirnie said...

i think the dragon boat is link with the Bak Zhang... pity u no Bak Zhang to eat... cant DHL to u, confirm spoil >_<

fufu said...

Sarawakiana@2 : yeah good! we have regatta here in frankfurt too hahaha :) but well sibu one must be great too ya i guess...


einrihs_shirnie : yup, just the regatta, no bak zhang >< but anyway i am used to it already... already didnt have it for the last 5yrs when i was in japan ya... hahaa

Unknown said...

wow,劃龍舟比賽~
可是德國應該不知道粽子吧?

fufu said...

ah_man : 对呀 他们不知道粽子的由來
只知道龍船的意義罷了 ><
我很想念粽子哦... =p

豆腐 said...

u din't involve to play the dragon boat ...must be great...haha

now i only know tht other country are also interested in this culture...

fufu said...

Wilson豆腐 : nope i didnt take part :) but well, may not be able or late for next year as i cant practise with other participants >< because will be back to germany by april... anyway will see how... if not, just be there is more than enough i guess hahaha

Sendo said...

wanna join on one of those dragon festivals!!

PhotoVigor said...

Long time no see man..

You always got interesting post..

Got time to study or not?? :D

- yEng - said...

when i'm still young..each year dragon festival i MUST attend~ cos is too fun and hot!!! but now.......this few year nvr attend jor lur....

Ayie said...

this reminded me of my bestfriend who went to M'sia to compete years ago

happy weekend fufu

三吉 said...

突然觉得外国人赛龙舟的样子好可爱。。。

fufu said...

Sendo : me too...but i dont think they would allow me to take part as i will only be back in april next year >< will try my best! haha


Vigor : hahaha i seldom study one... last minute type person lol


yEng : lucky you... i have never seen this festival until i came to frankfurt... but well you shall go take part next year...must be nice i bet!

fufu said...

Ayie : wow your friend is great! but how's the regatta? not bad ya i assume if could go to malaysia to compete... must be the top of the country lol


三吉 : 哈哈 就好像我們慶祝聖誕節
對他們來講 我們也很可愛 哈哈哈

♥ Dαphïηə ♥ said...

hi fufu~~~
did u remember me? haha
dragon boat very NICE!!!!

Chris said...

Oh? How come FRA also have dragonboat riding geh?

fufu said...

DolphinE : yeah i know you... glad you are still remembering me, and coming back to visit me :) yeah nice dragon boat festival here right? lol


Chris : hahaha yes :) frankfurt has a lot of cool stuff that we dont know... but anyway dont worry because i am going to explore more... for you guys... haha

June said...

What a fascinating dragon boat event. Sadly, I still haven't seen the Dragon boat races!

小虫 said...

haha~ our country (malaysia) jz ended this dragon boat festival event leh~! haha

really excited while watching the race lol! haha

迷迭香 said...

this is really cool ~
just a small question, why the dragon head looks so tiny ?

palito said...

wow...i always want to try dragon boat but the training entails waking up very early, even on weekdays. great photos.

pusangkalye said...

the goal that was not/ the goal that should have been the equalizer---I feel bad for England. yeah, maybe Germany was the better team but we can never tell what that equalizer would have done.......must be crazy there mate with the MILE FAN...saw it in CNN.....how I wish to catch the football fever that you are experiencing now. Must be crazy. Must be nice to belong.....you go mate---But I go for SPAIN and I think this year is SPAIN's year. hahaha

Janice said...

hi Fufu. Long time I didn't drop by to read your blog. I was so busy with my course. Next week I will start my master study journey. When I looked at the academic calender, I was shocked. It will be an intensive year with research, reports, presentations, clerkship, exam etc. Anyway, I will just do it. I can do it!!

HanLun said...

:) is really eye opener. Now only know dragon boat is not only chinese..haha.a.

Matt said...

Dragon Boat Festival in Frankfurt? I would have never guessed.

cleffairy said...

I didn't see dragon boat festival this year, but I do get to eat bak chang. :D

sock peng said...

没想到洋人划龙舟也如此精彩

fufu said...

June : yeah please try to take part next year ok? i wanna see the pictures from you hahaha


嘉CacinG進 : yeah i so wanna attend putrajaya dragon boat festival too... will be there in 2012 :) hihihi


迷迭香 : i also dont know why the dragon head is so small... ahhaha

fufu said...

palito : hahaha try to arrange with your teammates... probably can make it in the evening ya :) wish you could join next year, hihihi


pusang kalye : hahaha yeah spain is playing really well now...but i still think holland would be the threat ya... hahaha anyway both holland and spain are playing nice this year....salute!


Janice : oic... master ya?? erm all the best, i am sure you can make it :) i am not doing that good now but i will do my best and will complete the course... hehehe :) do come here when you are free ok?

fufu said...

HanLun : hehehe :) yeah by reading blogs, we really learn a lot of new stuff ya...


Matt : hahaha yeah almost all international cities have such international event ya :) haha


cleffairy : oh... bak zhang... i dont have this year >< but well we can now eat bakzhang thoughout the year already in msia... am i right? hahaha

fufu said...

sock peng : 對呀 很驚訝吧 :)

Twilight Man said...

Thanks for sharing so many interesting photos!!! I don't even need to fly there to watch, just click your blog!! LOL

More photos!

Amber said...

嘿嘿 : haha 講得好 :) 屈老泉下慰... 但是沒有粽子 >< 希望他老人家不會嫌棄就好 haha