On 13 June, Consul General Tang Rui attended the 2026 UK Chinese Dragon Boat Festival. The event was also attended by the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester and City Mayor of Salford, Mr. Paul Dennett; President of Xinhua Chinese Association, Mr Xu Yanzhong; and Vice Mayor of Yangzhou, Ms. Liu Liu, among other guests. Nearly 80 dragon boat teams, including a team from the Royal Navy, took part in the competition, with tens of thousands of spectators attending.

In his remarks, Consul General Tang Rui conveyed festival greetings to overseas Chinese on behalf of Ambassador Zheng Zeguang. He noted that after more than a decade of development, the Dragon Boat Festival has become a major integrated event combining sporting competition, cultural performances, and cultural exchange. Coinciding with the United Nations International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, this year’s festival has made a positive contribution to enhancing people-to-people ties and promoting mutual learning between Chinese and British civilizations. Guests at the event also praised the festival for bringing a vibrant showcase of Chinese culture to local communities and for effectively promoting friendship and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

This year’s festival lasted two days. At the opening ceremony, Yangzhou and Salford officially signed a sister-city agreement.