[1/6] Participants splash water during a ceremony in between races during Tung Ng or Dragon Boat Festival at Aberdeen fishing port in Hong Kong, China June 22, 2023. The two-day event, organised by Hong Kong's tourism board and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, drew more than 4,000 paddlers from 160 teams including from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and internationally, its tourism body said. Can't think of a better way to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival than with my team and the rest of Hong Kong and Asia," said Shirleen Ho, 41, a member of the Australian National Dragon boat team. While dragon boat originated in China's southern Lingnan region more than 1,000 years, the modern version began in Hong Kong, a special Chinese administrative region, around 40 years ago. The competition is one of many events the Hong Kong government is holding to boost tourism and reinvigorate its economy after sealing its borders for more than two years.

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Persons: Tung Ng, Tyrone Siu, Shirleen Ho, Joyce Zhou, Farah Master, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: REUTERS, Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association, Australian National, Hong, Thomson Locations: Aberdeen, Hong Kong, China, Tyrone Siu HONG KONG, Hong, Hong Kong China, Taiwan, Asia, China's, Lingnan, Victoria, British