(baosonla.vn) - Continuing the activities of the Quynh Nhai Culture, Sports and Tourism Week 2025, on the morning of February 7th, the traditional boat racing festival was inaugurated at the Pa Uon bridge boat racing wharf in Quynh Nhai district. Attending the opening ceremony were leaders from provincial departments and agencies; Muong Lay town (Dien Bien province); and a large number of athletes, local people, and tourists from inside and outside the province.
This year's traditional boat racing festival attracted 280 athletes from 10 teams representing communes and towns in Quynh Nhai district; teams from Muong La district; and teams from Muong Lay town, Dien Bien province. The teams competed in two categories: men's team; and mixed men and women's team, over a distance of 1,500 meters. The racing boats were dugout canoes shaped like swallowtails, made from a single tree trunk.
The area around Pá Uôn bridge where the boat racing festival takes place.
Delegates and athletes attend the opening ceremony.
The organizers presented commemorative flags to the participating teams.
The teams start the men's team event.
Immediately after the opening ceremony, the men's team competition began its race; the athletes, experienced in previous boat races and possessing skillful swallowtail boat handling abilities, created an exciting competition. Each swallowtail boat raced through the waves towards the finish line amidst the enthusiastic cheers and encouragement of thousands of spectators and tourists gathered at both riverbanks and on the Pá Uôn bridge. In the exhilarating atmosphere of the early spring and the new year, the number of people and tourists flocking to the boat racing festival area increased steadily, creating an incredibly vibrant and lively atmosphere.
Competing on the race track.
The joy of crossing the finish line.
The annual traditional boat racing festival is linked to the strengths of developing cultural and spiritual tourism, as well as ecotourism, with over 10,000 hectares of water surface in the Son La hydroelectric reservoir.
The traditional boat racing festival contributes to preserving and promoting the fine traditional cultural values of the residents living along the Son La hydroelectric reservoir; creating a beneficial playground, enhancing understanding, exchange, and solidarity among ethnic groups inside and outside the province, bringing excitement, enthusiasm, and hope for a lucky, peaceful, and successful year.
Locals and tourists came to cheer on the competing teams.
Source: Son La Newspaper