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Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
HARBIN, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — The chill air over the frozen Songhua River in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province filled with cheers on Saturday as students from elite Chinese and British universities took part in the first-of-its-kind ice dragon boat race.
The first international ice dragon boat friendship race, the HPU-Cambridge-Oxford Cup, was held in Harbin, the provincial capital and known as China's "Ice City." Fourteen teams participated, including those from Oxford, Cambridge, Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), and universities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Macao.
"It was a fantastic experience. We really enjoyed it," said Edward Townsend, a Cambridge University student, adding that it was their first time trying dragon boat racing on ice and that battling the icy cold was a real challenge.
"It was really hard for us to adapt. But I think we did it," added E. Townsend. His team took first place in the race.
Unlike traditional dragon boating, ice dragon boating requires athletes to use ice axes to propel the boat forward across solid ice.
Daniel Foran, a team member from Oxford University, described the technical problem.
"It requires a lot of upper-body strength, whereas regular rowing primarily uses the legs and lower body," said D. Foran. He found the technical differences "very interesting to explore" and thanked the KhPU coach for his generous advice and coaching.
In addition to the competition, participants also enjoyed several cultural events, visiting the Big World of Ice and Snow theme park, feeding the park's Amur tigers, and sampling local cuisine.
The aim of the race is to build a "boat" for mutual education among young people, combining the rowing traditions of Oxford and Cambridge with those of HIT, said Chen Jie, secretary of the Party Committee of Harbin Institute of Technology, which initiated the event.
As noted in the guidelines for the development of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), China will expand high-level opening-up in the education sector.
Yang Dan, an official from the Chinese Ministry of Education, said in a video address at the opening ceremony that the "Friendship Race" is a sporting event that combines Harbin's ice and snow features, tradition and innovation, education and sports.
"I hope that the ice meeting will serve as a positive start for youth exchanges between China and the UK, as well as an important link for universities to expand cooperation and jointly cultivate talent," said Yang Dan.
E. Townsend hopes to continue his collaboration with HPU and to meet HPU students again in the future.
“Perhaps in the future we will be able to hold boat races with Oxford and Cambridge in the UK, where friends from HPU can come,” he said. -0-
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