Come and Watch Dragon Boat Races during the Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon boat racing is one of the core traditional customs of the Dragon Boat Festival. This holiday, the exciting scenes of hundreds of boats competing with one another will unfold across multiple places in Chengdu, accompanied by a wide range of folk activities.

Xinjin District

Tianfu Dragon Boat Festival

At the 2026 National Dragon Boat Grand Celebration—Sichuan-Chongqing and Chengdu-Deyang-Meishan-Ziyang (Xinjin) Tianfu Dragon Boat Festival, over 50 dragon boat teams will compete in a thrilling race.

After each day’s races conclude, the Nanhe River will instantly transform into a venue for duck-catching competition. A variety of other activities, such as “iron flower” fireworks, will be presented during the festival.

Dates: June 19 to 20

Location: along the shores of the Nanhe River in Xinjin District

Sichuan Tianfu New Area

Xinglong Lake Dragon Boat Invitational

At the 2026 Sichuan Tianfu New Area 4th Xinglong Lake Dragon Boat Invitational, dragon boat teams from Sichuan Tianfu New Area and from various enterprises and public institutions will race across the Xinglong Lake.

More than an ecological landmark of Chengdu’s park city development, Xinglong Lake has recently been included in the list of the first “Beautiful China Signature Sites”. It served as the official competition venue for the dragon boat discipline at The World Games 2025 Chengdu.

Date: June 19

Location: Hubin Plaza of Xinglong Lake, Sichuan Tianfu New Area

Shuangliu District

Huanglongxi Dragon Boat Race

The 4th Huanglongxi Dragon Boat Race and Dragon Boat Celebration in 2026 will bring together more than 50 dragon boat teams from Sichuan and other places to compete for the championship in Huanglongxi Ancient Town. In addition to the race, numerous fun activities will be held in parallel.

Dates: June 19 to 20

Location: Huanglongxi Ancient Town Scenic Area

Chongzhou City

Jiezi Ancient Town Dragon Boat Race

Participants at the “Dragon Soars over Jiezi—Water Rhythms of Summer” 2026 Jiezi Township Staff Games and the 4th Yuqing Community Dragon Boat Race are divided into a professional competitive category and a family fun category.

At the event, four interactive activities—duck-catching competition, water bowling, muddled water fishing, and zongzi wrapping—will be prepared.

Dates: June 18 to 19

Location: Yuqing Community (by the Weijiang River), Jiezi Township, Chongzhou City

Jintang County

“Festive Joy of Zongzi—Dragon Boat Racing”

The “Festive Joy of Zongzi—Dragon Boat Racing” thematic event, which is the boat fair of June featured in the “Sports Chengdu—Twelve Monthly Fairs”, centers on parent-child interaction. A wide range of experiential activities will be presented on site, including family dragon boat racing, canoeing, standup paddleboarding, and other popular water sports. Dedicated experience zones will be set up for zongzi wrapping and folk handicrafts.

Dates: June 18 to 21

Location: Huaizhou International Mountain and Water Sports Center, Jintang County

Dayi County

Dayi County Dragon Boat Race

The 13th National Fitness Games—2026 Dayi County Dragon Boat Race in Dayi County features a 200-meter straight-course sprint event for 12-person mixed teams. The competition is divided into three stages—preliminaries, semifinals, and finals.

During the event, Chengdu West Lake will hold diverse parallel activities for the Dragon Boat Festival.

Date: June 18

Location: Chengdu West Lake

Qionglai City

Dragon Boat Folk Sports Games

The 3rd Dragon Boat Folk Sports Games at Sangyuan Township features a 200-meter straight-course sprint event. The event will adopt a comprehensive competition format that includes preliminaries, repechage rounds, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Dragon Boat Festival folk experience zones will be set up around the venue.

Dates: June 19 to 21

Location: Xi Ling Su Ji (Xiejiaba waters), Zhangba Community, Sangyuan Township, Qionglai City

Sources: HomeinChengdu