On May 19th, the NPUST Office of International Affairs (OIA) held a unique “Here Comes the Lucky Dragon Boat—2025 Run with the Dragon” foot race competition at the Mengxiang Gymnasium. The event attracted 72 faculty members and students from the school who formed 12 teams to compete in the event.
At the opening ceremony, OIA Vice-Dean Kun-Yu Liu explained that the Dragon Boat Festival is an important traditional Chinese festival, and in order to allow overseas students to experience the cultural customs of the holiday, they put on a modified “dragon boat race”—moving the event on land and into gymnasium for the everyone to enjoy together. The “Run with the Dragon” race, which required a combination of teamwork and sports skills, brought together teams of local students and foreign students coming from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal, Dominica, Pakistan, St. Vincent, and St. Christopher. Many faculty members also joined in on the fun, including Director Rebecca Chung, Professor Albert Linton Charles, Associate Professor Lekhnath Kafle, Project Assistant Professor Sheng-Fong Chen and many others.
The “Run with the Dragon” dragon boat race put the speed and tacit understanding of the teams to the test. When the starting gun sounded, the teams of six had to sprint for the finish line while straddling the dragon boat. They worked together to hold on to the dragon’s body and run forward desperately on the 100-meter straight track. Each team had its own strategy, arranging teammates according to the height, weight, pace, and other factors. Amid the enthusiastic cheers from teachers and students on the sidelines, each dragon boat exhibited its own personality and style. Some swayed back and forth, others rushed forward recklessly. There were some who couldn’t keep up, and yet others who staggered and capsized. The dragon trainers had exhausted most of their energy when they reached the finish line to grab the flag. One of the participating teachers proudly said that “this was almost like running while doing squats—and it is a good thing that I exercise regularly”. The participants all agreed that although the dragon boat foot race was very physically demanding, it was lots of fun. It allowed everyone feel connected with one another, relax their bodies and minds with laughter, and enjoy the feeling of working together as a team.
