Dragon Boat
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Release Year:
2011
Story:
The filming began in 2001 and lasted for ten years, recording the story of the dragon boat in Lianxi Village on Xiaoguwei Island in the Pearl River Delta region of southern China. Lianxi Village, which is only a dozen kilometers away from Guangzhou City, still maintained a fairly traditional lifestyle and customs in 2001. The villagers are mainly composed of farmers and fishermen. They are keen on dragon boating. The traditional Dragon Boat Festival dragon boat race is the village once a year. Event. With the construction of Guangzhou University Town in 2003, the villagers of Lianxi Village had to be relocated and resettled. Today, the names of Xiaoguwei Island and Lianxi Village have disappeared from the map. The criss-cross highways and subways connect the island and the city. Guangzhou University Town, with more than ten colleges and universities, is equivalent to a capacity of 350,000 to 400,000. A medium-sized city for people. Perhaps it was a trick of fate. The former site of Lianxi Village was transformed into a folk tourist area "Lingnan Impression Park". The villagers of Lianxi Village who lost their land and far from the riverbank still return to the original village to row a dragon boat on the Dragon Boat Festival. Has the dragon boat become a contact with the villagers and their homeland? How will traditional customs survive? In a rapidly developing China, the story of Lianxi Village is also a microcosm of the disappearance of Chinese rural society in the 21st century.
The filming began in 2001 and lasted for ten years, recording the story of the dragon boat in Lianxi Village on Xiaoguwei Island in the Pearl River Delta region of southern China. Lianxi Village, which is only a dozen kilometers away from Guangzhou City, still maintained a fairly traditional lifestyle and customs in 2001. The villagers are mainly composed of farmers and fishermen. They are keen on dragon boating. The traditional Dragon Boat Festival dragon boat race is the village once a year. Event. With the construction of Guangzhou University Town in 2003, the villagers of Lianxi Village had to be relocated and resettled. Today, the names of Xiaoguwei Island and Lianxi Village have disappeared from the map. The criss-cross highways and subways connect the island and the city. Guangzhou University Town, with more than ten colleges and universities, is equivalent to a capacity of 350,000 to 400,000. A medium-sized city for people. Perhaps it was a trick of fate. The former site of Lianxi Village was transformed into a folk tourist area "Lingnan Impression Park". The villagers of Lianxi Village who lost their land and far from the riverbank still return to the original village to row a dragon boat on the Dragon Boat Festival. Has the dragon boat become a contact with the villagers and their homeland? How will traditional customs survive? In a rapidly developing China, the story of Lianxi Village is also a microcosm of the disappearance of Chinese rural society in the 21st century.
Casts & Crews:
Cao Dan
Directors
Runtime:
85
minutes
Language:
Director‘s Statement:
After the Dragon Boat Festival in 2001, I filmed the ceremony where villagers in Lianxi village buried the dragon boat in the pond (to protect the ancient boat wood). I saw the villagers’ love and care for the dragon boat. Traditional activities are an important part of rural social life. Reflecting on the living conditions of modern urbanites and facing the rapid expansion of urbanization and globalization, what will happen to the fate of Lianxi Village?
Unexpectedly, the construction of Guangzhou University Town in 2003 accelerated the process of urbanization of the small island. Although the living conditions of the resettlement villages after the relocation were better than before, the villagers were faced with drastic changes in their living environment and lifestyle, as well as the disintegration and disintegration of traditional villages. Helplessness between the maintenance of customs.
The special cultural phenomenon of Lianxi Village lies in the retention of the original site of the village and the ownership of the ancestral hall. The village has become a tourist area, while the ancestral hall still belongs to the villagers. It is used as a place for collective activities during festivals (including the dragon boat meal on the Dragon Boat Festival), and the dragon head and dragon The storage place of the tail, gongs, and drums, it can be said that after the village moved, the body and spirit of the village were concentrated in the space of the ancestral hall, while the vitality of the village was reflected in the behavior of the villagers in the dragon boat rowing. Just as the drummer Chen Xiong in the film said: Whether the dragon boat is rowed well depends on the cohesion of your village."
The Dragon Boat Festival is a day to commemorate Qu Yuan. In 278 BC, the exiled poet saw the country ruined and the imperial court was corrupt. In grief and despair, he boulder and sink the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Today, the dragon boat lasted more than two thousand years. Does the race still have a real meaning? The French-Chinese writer Cheng Baoyi once described the dragon boat: "The poet symbolizes people's worship of the road to justice. While commemorating the poet, people are also celebrating the victory of life... … These humble peasants, who are usually accustomed to subserving their knees for farming under the oppression of the regime, have restored their dignity here."
Unexpectedly, the construction of Guangzhou University Town in 2003 accelerated the process of urbanization of the small island. Although the living conditions of the resettlement villages after the relocation were better than before, the villagers were faced with drastic changes in their living environment and lifestyle, as well as the disintegration and disintegration of traditional villages. Helplessness between the maintenance of customs.
The special cultural phenomenon of Lianxi Village lies in the retention of the original site of the village and the ownership of the ancestral hall. The village has become a tourist area, while the ancestral hall still belongs to the villagers. It is used as a place for collective activities during festivals (including the dragon boat meal on the Dragon Boat Festival), and the dragon head and dragon The storage place of the tail, gongs, and drums, it can be said that after the village moved, the body and spirit of the village were concentrated in the space of the ancestral hall, while the vitality of the village was reflected in the behavior of the villagers in the dragon boat rowing. Just as the drummer Chen Xiong in the film said: Whether the dragon boat is rowed well depends on the cohesion of your village."
The Dragon Boat Festival is a day to commemorate Qu Yuan. In 278 BC, the exiled poet saw the country ruined and the imperial court was corrupt. In grief and despair, he boulder and sink the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Today, the dragon boat lasted more than two thousand years. Does the race still have a real meaning? The French-Chinese writer Cheng Baoyi once described the dragon boat: "The poet symbolizes people's worship of the road to justice. While commemorating the poet, people are also celebrating the victory of life... … These humble peasants, who are usually accustomed to subserving their knees for farming under the oppression of the regime, have restored their dignity here."
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Casts & Crews
Cao Dan
Director
