Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival 新竹市端午龍舟賽

Festivals in Hsinchu

As Taiwan prepares for summer, many locals mark the occasion with the yearly Dragon Boat Festival. Throughout the island and many places in Asia, people will assemble their teams and practice rigorously for the annual dragon boat races. No matter where you are in Taiwan, you are bound to find an event near you.

Hsinchu is no exception to the festivities. Every year banners will be hung and advertisements posted throughout the entire city promoting the annual dragon boat festival. Even with all of this buzz, it can sometimes be challenging to get all of the insider info on when and where the Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival (新竹市端午龍舟競賽) takes place. This guide will show you the highlights of the 2023 Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival and how to prepare for the years to come!

You can read about the 2022 Hsinchu County Dragon Boat Races here!

How to Get to the Dragon Boat Festival

Throughout Taiwan, you are bound to find some kind of festivities in every major city and tiny village. Dragon Boat Festival takes place on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month. This date will often fall between late May and June. There are typically two dates for the dragon boat races. The first date will be the preliminary races to qualify and the finals will be held on the actual day of the dragon boat festival.

The most confusing part of planning to go to the Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival is to get the times right. You’ll be able to find the dates, but no actual times on when the races start. In order to get this information, you’ll have to follow the official Hsinchu City government website. Even then the hours are not clear. Typically, the opening ceremony for the Dragon Boat Festival will begin at 9:00 and races will be held from 9:30 – 12:00 and then from 1:00-5:00.

The yearly Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival is held in the neighboring coastal town of Nanliao (南寮). Many tourists bike the Touqian River Bikeway (頭前溪左岸) from downtown Hsinchu to Nanliao which takes about 30 min. If you want to get to the races faster and beat the heat, you can also take bus BL15 to Nanliao from Hsinchu Train Station. It will take roughly 23 min to get to Nanliao and costs 15 NT (0.48USD).

You can read more about biking the Touqian River Bikeway and visiting the Tofu Rocks here!

Getting Your Feet Wet

The Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival is open to all kinds of teams of various backgrounds. During the competition, you’ll find matchups between firefighters versus university students and computer engineers versus ESL teachers. Teams consist of a total of 25 people. In the dragon boat, there are 16 oarsmen, one person grabbing the flag and another drumming. On your team, you can also have 4 alternates, a team leader, a coach, and a manager. A helmsman will be provided by the event organizers.

The rules go into detail about how each match of the dragon boat race will play out. Teams will start on the far end of the Old Nanliao Fishing Harbor (新竹南寮舊漁港). The teams will then paddle 200m to the other end of the lake and grab a flag. The first team to grab the flag is the winner and will move on to the next round. The first prize for winning the competition is 60,000 NT (1,924 USD).

Looking for more festivals around Taiwan? Be sure not to miss the Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage! 

Beating of Drums

The 2023 Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival started off with a small magic show and opening words from Mayor Gao Hongan. After a ceremonial paddle by politicians from one end of the harbor to the other, the competition begins. From the beginning, it is quite clear who will move on to the next round and who will not. While some teams jet across the water in perfect harmony, others struggle to even stay in their lane.

The real action of the dragon boat festival is at the finish line. If you can grab a good spot, you’ll see all the expressions going through competitors’ faces as they reach out to grab the flag. The drums beat not only to keep the rhythm of the rowers in sync but also to add suspense as participants climb the dragon’s head to clench victory.

One festival in Taiwan you’ll want to be sure to check out is the Pingxi Lantern Festival!

Around Nanliao

After a few hours of taking in the races, you’ll probably get a bit restless and want to start exploring some of the other things to do around Nanliao. Unfortunately, there is no market or vendors near the old harbor where you can grab a snack while watching the dragon boats race from side to side. The closest place where you can find some food to eat while still enjoying the races is the famous Sea House Cafe (海屋咖啡廳). Here you can grab a slice of pizza and watch the races from their cozy patio.

If you’re wanting more of a variety of things to eat, you’ll have to walk further out to the coast. By the new harbor, you’ll have loads of things to choose from at the Boguang Market (波光市集) and nearby restaurants at Fengli Park (風力活動公園). From there it is a short walk to the beach where you can enjoy watching the fishing boats cast out to sea.

Another day trip from Hsinchu that you’ll want to be sure to do is visiting the mountain village of Neiwan!

Is Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival Worth Visiting?

In 2022 the Dragon Boat Festival was organized by Hsinchu County and was held in  Xinfeng (新豐) by Chihe Temple (池和宮). Compared to 2023, the festivities in Xinfeng were far more lively. The event started off with a bang as lion dancers performed on stage to the crashing of cymbals and beating of drums. The racers also had the great stone gates of Chihe Temple as their backdrop as they paddled across the water. Also, the Dragon Boat Festival had its very own market next to the races where you could buy food, drinks, and most importantly, sticky rice dumplings (粽子).

The Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival did little to make this traditional Taiwanese festival traditional. Due to the Boguang Market being a short walk away from the harbor, it is understandable why there weren’t any vendors by the water. However, little was done to help make spectators excited to view the races. Rather than make this a city-wide celebration, it seemed like organizers simply set up a competition and forgot to make it an event that can be enjoyed by all.

As the world gets back to normal after the pandemic, one can only hope that the Hsinchu City Dragon Boat Festival will continue to grow and attract travelers from all over the world.

The fun doesn’t have to stop here, you can find more of the best things to do in Hsinchu on our complete list here!