As COVID retreats, dragon boat tradition back in south China


              A child sells flags along the route of a dragon boat race in the historic Lychee Bay scenic area in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong Province, Friday, June 3, 2022. Dragon boat races returned in parts of China on Friday for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in late 2019, as restrictions are lifted along with a major drop in COVID-19 cases. (AP Photo/Caroline Chen)
            
              A child holds a flag to pose for photos as he attends dragon boat race in the historic Lychee Bay scenic area in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong Province, Friday, June 3, 2022. Dragon boat races returned in parts of China on Friday for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in late 2019, as restrictions are lifted along with a major drop in COVID-19 cases. (AP Photo/Caroline Chen)
            Dragon boat participants from Panting village row along a canal in the historic Lychee Bay scenic area in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong Province, Friday, June 3, 2022. Dragon boat races returned in parts of China on Friday for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in late 2019, as restrictions are lifted along with a major drop in COVID-19 cases. (AP Photo/Caroline Chen) Dragon boat participants from Panting village row along a canal in the historic Lychee Bay scenic area in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong Province, Friday, June 3, 2022. Dragon boat races returned in parts of China on Friday for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in late 2019, as restrictions are lifted along with a major drop in COVID-19 cases.  (AP Photo/Caroline Chen) Residents crowd on a bridge to wait for dragon boats along a canal in the historic Lychee Bay scenic area in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong Province, Friday, June 3, 2022. Dragon boat races returned in parts of China on Friday for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in late 2019, as restrictions are lifted along with a major drop in COVID-19 cases. (AP Photo/Caroline Chen) Dragon boat participants from Panting village row along a canal in the historic Lychee Bay scenic area in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong Province, Friday, June 3, 2022. Dragon boat races returned in parts of China on Friday for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in late 2019, as restrictions are lifted along with a major drop in COVID-19 cases. The historic Lychee Bay scenic area in the southern Chinese manufacturing hub of Guangzhou staged races and other scaled-back celebrations to mark the holiday that commemorates the death more than 2,200 years ago of revered poet and government minister Qu Yuan. (AP Photo/Caroline Chen) Dragon boat participants from Panting village row along a canal in the historic Lychee Bay scenic area in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong Province, Friday, June 3, 2022. Dragon boat races returned in parts of China on Friday for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in late 2019, as restrictions are lifted along with a major drop in COVID-19 cases. (AP Photo/Caroline Chen) Dragon boat participants from Panting village row along a canal in the historic Lychee Bay scenic area in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong Province, Friday, June 3, 2022. Dragon boat races returned in parts of China on Friday for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic in late 2019, as restrictions are lifted along with a major drop in COVID-19 cases.  (AP Photo/Caroline Chen) People wearing face masks walk under an umbrella at a public park on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in Beijing, Friday, June 3, 2022, as China's capital has begun to reopen parks, shopping malls, and other places as a COVID-19 outbreak subsides. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) A boy wearing a face mask plays badminton at a public park on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in Beijing, Friday, June 3, 2022, as China's capital has begun to reopen parks, shopping malls, and other places as a COVID-19 outbreak subsides. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) People wearing face masks ride on a boat at a public park on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in Beijing, Friday, June 3, 2022, as China's capital has begun to reopen parks, shopping malls, and other places as a COVID-19 outbreak subsides. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein) People wearing face masks walk along a path at a public park on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday in Beijing, Friday, June 3, 2022, as China's capital has begun to reopen parks, shopping malls, and other places as a COVID-19 outbreak subsides. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)