It's a test of speed and strength as dragon boat teams paddle fiercely along the Keelung River in Taipei on Sunday.
            
More than 200 teams took part, with Chinese and non-Chinese competing side by side.
            
32-year-old Shimizu Naoki led a team of 20 rowers from Taiwan and Japan.
            
[Shinizu Naoki, Japanese Participant]:             
"I have attended dragon boat races in Taiwan before, and I like Taiwan very much too. That's why some Japanese and Taiwanese people got together and started this team. I like dragon boats and I like Taiwan, that's why the team is called the Taiwan-Japan Exchange Team." 
           
Among the other participants - a Red-Cross rescue team which said the sport helps them develop better team work.
            
The races commemorate the death of a popular Chinese ancient hero, Qu Yuan, who drowned in the Mi Lo River more than 2,000 years ago as a protest against corrupt leaders.
            
Today dragon boat races are commonly held in Chinese communities around the world, and the event in Taipei is part of a festival marking the arrival of summer.