Teamwork key to duck-grabbing at festival activity

A man in swimming trunks dashes quickly across a narrow, round log covered with oil. He must stay right-side up long enough to touch a stick before jumping into a swimming pool.

Several swimmers strategized after the placement of a duck in the water, surrounding the creature to entrap and catch it.

The activity was part of the two-day 2022 Cross-Straits Dragon Boat Race, which ended on Friday in Xiamen, Fujian province.

The duck-grabbing activity is a tradition of the Dragon Boat Festival, which fell on Friday this year, in Chinese provinces such as Fujian, Sichuan and Hunan.

"Teamwork is most efficient. You have to corner the duck, which may dive deeply into the water to hide itself," said Ding Hongyuan, a teacher from Chengyi Technical School, who came to join in the activity with his students.