Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu
On Sunday 7 June 2026, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Luxembourg (CCCL) and the Chinese Embassy in Luxembourg organised the fourth edition of the Luxembourg International Dragon Boat Festival on the Moselle River in Remich, with Cargolux 1 successfully retaining the championship title following a day of racing, cultural performances and community celebrations.
The event attracted a record seventeen teams from Luxembourg's business, academic and community sectors, combining dragon boat racing with a programme of cultural performances, exhibitions and culinary experiences celebrating Chinese heritage.
The opening ceremony on the Remich Esplanade was attended by Luxembourg's Minister of Home Affairs, Léon Gloden, Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg Hua Ning, Remich Mayor Jacques Sitz, President of the Luxembourg Euro-Asie Schengen International Group (EAS) Zhang Yong and Director of the Chinese Cultural Centre in Luxembourg Mu Yuwei. The ceremony also featured the traditional eye-dotting ritual, symbolically awakening the dragon before the start of the races, as well as a lion dance performance.
“The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional celebration in China that dates back around 2,000 years. While it originally commemorated a famous patriotic poet from ancient China, it has since evolved into a popular cultural and sporting event celebrated across the country and increasingly around the world,” Ambassador Hua Ning told Chronicle.lu.
He noted that dragon boat racing has been recognised as part of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage and described the Luxembourg festival as unique because of its location in Schengen. “Schengen is a landmark of European integration and a gateway for cultural and sporting exchanges and cooperation between China and Europe,” he added.
Since its inaugural edition, the festival has grown from eleven participating teams to a record seventeen in 2026. Beyond the sporting competition, the event aims to promote cultural exchange, friendship and cooperation between China and Europe, while showcasing the traditions associated with the Dragon Boat Festival.
This year's edition featured seventeen teams competing in a series of qualifying heats, semi-finals and finals on the Moselle River. Each dragon boat crew consisted of sixteen paddlers, a drummer and a cox responsible for steering the boat.
Beyond the sporting competition, visitors enjoyed a wide range of activities throughout the day, including traditional Chinese music and dance performances, martial arts demonstrations, a Chinese Tea Salon, Jiangsu cultural and tourism exhibitions, food stands serving both Chinese and Luxembourgish specialities, traditional “zongzi” rice dumplings and interactive displays featuring Unitree robots.
“Four years ago, the idea came from the former director of the Chinese Cultural Centre. The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four most important traditional festivals in China, and every year in June we want to celebrate it here on the beautiful Moselle River,” said Zhang Yong, President of the Luxembourg Euro-Asie Schengen International Group and coordinator of the event.
Dragon Boat Club Perl coordinated the races, with seventeen teams competing through qualifying heats, semi-finals and finals. Each crew consisted of sixteen paddlers, a drummer and a cox responsible for steering the boat.
After progressing through the preliminary rounds and semi-finals, Cargolux 1 secured victory in the final race and successfully defended the title won in 2025. The Confucius Institute at the University of Luxembourg repeated last year's second-place finish, while China Merchants Bank Europe completed the podium in third place.
