A village group leader's bond with dragon boat racing in Xinjiang

The 2026 dragon boat race was held on the Hongyan River in Korla on Saturday. During the final sprint, the boat of Halayugong town team capsized suddenly when it hit strong currents, and all team members fell into the water.

Captain Anwar Kurban stayed calm and quickly gathered all his teammates. Even though they were exhausted, they managed to right the overturned boat and paddled hard together to cross the finish line. They didn't win a prize, but they earned the highest respect from the audience.

This united and hard-working dragon boat team was built over five years. Back in 2021, Anwar, then a village group leader, started the team. He faced many difficulties: lack of members, poor skills, and little experience. Anwar learned dragon boat skills online, trained regularly with his teammates, and took part in many races to improve teamwork.

Thanks to his efforts, more and more villagers are now taking up dragon boat sports.