[photopress:air_dragon_boat.jpg,full,alignright]Starting today, June 3, ten airlines from the mainland and Taiwan will make 19 round-trip flights for the traditional Duanwu, or Dragon Boat Festival which runs from June 3-15.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China said the mainland airports involved are in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen, with one in Taiwan – Taipei.
Shanghai will have the most flights on the mainland, with 14 round-trip charter flights.
[photopress:air_dragon_boat2.jpg,full,alignleft]Carriers that will operate the flights are Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Xiamen Airlines and Shanghai Airlines on the mainland, and China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, EVA Air, UNI Air and TransAsia Airways in Taiwan.
Mainland people celebrate their first ‘official’ Dragon Boat holiday this year.
The State Council revised the official holiday schedule late last year to add three traditional festivals -Qingming, Duanwu and Zhongqiu – in response to public demand.
Interesting that the Dragon Boat Festival is probably the most international of all festivals from China. In fact it would be fair to say that dragon boat racing (sport and festival) is among the fastest growing of team water sports, with tens of thousands of participants in various organizations and clubs in over 60 countries.
Source: China View