Dragon Boat festival returns to quays

The race has been a popular event since its launch at Salford Quays in 2012

The Dragon Boat Festival returns to Salford Quays later, with thousands of spectators expected to attend.

Experienced and amateur teams will compete in ornate vessels outside the Lowry Theatre in the annual race.

Dating from about 2,000 years ago, the festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in the Chinese calendar, which usually falls in May or June.

Salford Mayor Paul Dennett told BBC Radio Manchester it was "a great spectacle" and "a historically cultural significant sporting tradition in China".

Dr Hanxin Yang said the sport had the power to unite people

Records show Chinese people have been living in Greater Manchester since the 19th Century, with 2% of the area's current population being of Chinese origin.

Mr Dennett said: “Obviously we have a longstanding Chinese diaspora here in Greater Manchester so getting together with our Chinese communities is really, really important.”

Dr Hanxin Yang, chairman of Manchester’s Xinhua Chinese Association, added that the sporting tradition was about 2,000 years old and has the "power to bring people together”.

Year of the dragon

The modern version of the sport dates from the 1980s, according to Neil Pickles, chair of the British Dragon Boat Association.

“Traditionally the boats were made of hardwood, modern boats are made of fibreglass – and you’ve got an ornate Chinese-style dragon’s head and, on the back, you have an ornate dragon’s tail.

"You have a drummer at the front of the boat keeping everybody to time and you have a helm at the back steering the boat in a straight line."

This weekend's event also takes place in the Year of the Dragon, which is a symbol of good fortune.