Village artisans struggle to keep boat building tradition afloat

Shangjiao village was bustling with the noise of drilling and hammering in the week before the Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Jie, which falls on June 9 this year as the makers of boats put the finishing touches to them ahead of the racing season.

After the work was finished, the completed traditional handmade wooden vessels were pushed onto the waterway to the sound of firecrackers that were lit for good luck.

Shangjiao village in the Panyu district of Guangzhou is one of the two major production bases for traditional dragon boats in South China's Guangdong province, the other being Zhongtang town in Dongguan.