Residents on Sunday paddle dragon boats on the water of Liede, South China’s Guangdong province, to celebrate the annual Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on Thursday this year. Photo: VCG

A man examines boats on a riverbank in Chaozhou, South China’s Guangdong province, on Wednesday after completing a training session for the next day’s race. Photo: VCG

A rower returns a dragon head to its storage location after finishing training in Chaozhou on Wednesday. Photo: VCG

Rowers on Monday take to the water in Foshan, Guangdong, in their brightly decorated dragon boats to pray for good luck ahead of this year’s festival. Photo: VCG

A man attempts to avoid getting splashed by water during a celebration in Guangzhou on Sunday. Photo: VCG

Rowers compete in a dragon boat race Wednesday in Fuzhou, East China’s Fujian province. Photo: Wang Dongming/China News Service, VCG

A drummer cheers on rowers during a race held on the Qinhuai River Wednesday in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: VCG

Boats set off in a race on Wednesday on the Jialing River in Southwest China’s Sichuan province. Photo: VCG