A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft originating from the Pearl River Delta region of China's southern Guangdong Province.

It is one of a family of traditional paddled long boats found throughout Asia, Africa, the Pacific islands, and Puerto Rico.

Both dragon boat racing and the ancient Olympiad included aspects of religious observances and community celebrations, along with competitions.

Dragon boat racing has been a traditional Chinese paddled watercraft activity for over 2000 years and began as a modern international sport in Hong Kong in 1976.

The International Dragon Boat Federation defines a dragon boat, within competition regulations, to be: "a long displacement boat of an open design, that is based upon a rib-less carvel form of hull construction, with the following distinguishing characteristics; no stem, hard chine bilge; W in cross section, minimum freeboard, punt-like entry and exit; rocketed keel that is set back from the twin rail boards and curved sheet line with upsweep extremities".

[4] Today, the standard materials used to build the hull of these dragon boats are usually either teak wood or fiberglass.

[2] When they are reintroduced back into the sea, teak allows their joints to expand, which allows the boat to close any gaps and further strengthen itself.

[2] Sometime in the 1990s, China began its advocacy for the protection of its forests, causing a shortage in large timber resources.

[4] The design of the dragon heads vary according to its location, as each region has their own specific features and colors to dedicate to it.

Many consider the building of these dragon boats to be a combination of various art forms, including carpentry work, wood carving, oil painting, and marine architecture theory.

The use of dragon boats for racing and dragon ceremonies is believed by scholars, sinologists, and anthropologists to have originated in southern central China more than 2500 years ago, in Dongting Lake and along the banks of the Chang Jiang (now called the Yangtze) during the same era when the games of ancient Greece were being established at Olympia.

All the rest are non-mythical animals, yet all twelve of the zodiac creatures were well known to members of ancient Chinese agrarian communities.

Traditional dragon boat racing, in China, coincides with the 5th day of the 5th Chinese lunar month (varying from late May to June on the modern Gregorian Calendar).

The summer solstice occurs around 21 June and is the reason why Chinese refer to their festival as "Duan Wu" or "Duen Ng".

Wu or Ng refers to the sun at its highest position in the sky during the day, the meridian of 'high noon'.

Thus, Duan Wu is an ancient reference to the maximum position of the sun in the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year or the summer solstice.

Venerating the dragon deity was meant to avert misfortune and calamity and to encourage rainfall, which is needed for the fertility of the crops and thus, the prosperity of an agrarian way of life.

Not understanding the significance of Duanwu, 19th-century European observers of the racing ritual referred to the associated spectacle as a "dragon boat festival".

[8] Laos which emerged from the Khmer Empire organizes a similar dragon boat festival on the Mekong River called Boun Suang Huea.

The world's longest dragon boat is located in Cambodia and known as the Kambojika Putta Khemara Tarei.

In official competitions, such as world championships, drummers must physically beat the drum, else the team may be issued a penalty.

The paddle now accepted by the International Dragon Boat Organization has a standardized, fixed blade surface area and distinctive shape derived from the paddle shapes characteristic of that used by inhabitants of the Pearl River delta region of Guangdong Province, China adjacent to Hong Kong.

The IDBF[10] Paddle Specification 202a (PS202a)[11] has straight flared edges and circular arced shoulders, based geometrically on an equilateral triangle positioned between the blade face and the neck of the shaft.

Many terms exist for the person steering the boat, such as steerer, steersperson, steerman, sweep, and helm.

[12] Both Sport and Festival racing are very competitive and many paddlers train year round, using paddling machines or pools in addition to on-water sessions.