After more than a decade sponsored by a well known international hotel brand, Nanjing’s legendary annual Dragon Boat Race shall now be known as the 2017 ICBC Cup.
Organised by the Nanjing Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, with help from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, there has been no change to the venue for the popular event, taking place on the waters of downtown’s Mochou Lake on 28th May.
As may be surmised, each of the teams entering the competition are from a company with a degree of foreign investment, a Joint Venture, a Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise or some other kind of foreign entity with a presence in Nanjing.
More than 20 foreign invested companies are expected to take part, with a list of confirmed participants, at time of writing, comprising:
- Yangzi Petrochemical – BASF Co., Ltd..
- Bosch Automotive Steering System (Nanjing) Co., Ltd.
- BSH Electrical Appliances (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.
- Nanjing Ericsson Panda Communication Co., Ltd.
- Changan Mazda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Nanjing Amity Printing Co., Ltd.
- Wacker Chemical (Nanjing) Co., Ltd.
- Jiangnan-Onoda Cement Co. Ltd.
- Phoenix (China) Investment Co., Ltd.
- A.O. Smith (China) Water Heater Co., Ltd.
- Nanjing L.G. Panda Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd.
- Yizhi Industrial Technology (Nanjing) Co., Ltd.
- Nanjing Jinlong Bus Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
- Nanjing Sharp Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Celanese (Nanjing) Chemical Co., Ltd.
- Stepan (Nanjing) Chemical Co., Ltd.
- Thyssenkrupp Engine Co., Ltd.
- The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai Nanjing Centre
- Nanjing International School
In previous years, thousands of people turned out to watch the race in what is an excellent family day out, with live music and other entertainment, accompanied by Chinese & English commentary of the race itself.
Getting underway at 8.30 am with the obligatory opening ceremony, speeches by local officials and official welcome to each of the participating teams, the dragon boat races themselves shall begin at approximately 10.15 with the preliminary rounds. The semi finals precede the lunch break which is followed by miscellaneous races and the final at 1.30 pm.
For locals, the Nanjing Dragon Boat Race has always been about one thing alone; a great day out with the opportunity to witness muscly Chinese and foreigners alike, competing to win, sink or swim!
