Teams with international contestants during Tianjin's 2023 Dragon Boat Race compete on the Haihe River on June 22, 2023. [Photo by Yang Cheng / chinadaily.com.cn]

Nearly 100 foreigners from companies, universities and international schools in the coastal city of Tianjin joined the city's 2023 Dragon Boat Race, which was held on Thursday during Dragon Boat Festival.

The festival, also known as Duanwu, falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month on the Chinese lunar calendar.

Participating companies included Germany-invested Wago, Volkswagen and Schlote and the French Airbus.

A team from a foreign company based in Tianjin waves to spectators on the bank of the Haihe River in Tianjin on June 22, 2023. [Photo by Yang Cheng / chinadaily.com.cn]

The race also attracted some 380 local competitors. Local and foreign racers were divided into separate groups.

A total of 28,000 local residents and visitors watched the event on the banks of the Haihe River, according to organizers.

In addition to the boat race, 50 foreign students and teachers from Tianjin Foreign Studies University and the Tianjin University of Technology and Education were invited to join an event at TFSU organized by the Tianjin People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

International teachers and students at Tianjin Foreign Studies University and the Tianjin University of Technology and Education made zongzi, or sticky rice dumplings, after the dragon boat event. [Photo by Yang Cheng / chinadaily.com.cn]

During the event, participants could attend a lecture on the festival, make zongzi, or sticky rice dumplings, and enjoy performances presented by TSFU students and teachers.

Alberto Casartelli, a bilingual composer and a teacher at Tianjin Foreign Studies University, sang a song on June 22 during the Dragon Boat Festival celebration organized by the Tianjin People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. [Photo by Dou Wendong / for chinadaily.com.cn]

Students from Tianjin Foreign Studies University perform traditional Chinese music during the event. [Photo by Dou Wendong / for chinadaily.com.cn]