Driven by the fusion of cultural heritage and innovation, the Jinji Lake Dragon Boat Festival has evolved into a comprehensive event integrating competitive sports, folk culture and tourism.

The dragon boat races were paired with the Jinji Lake Dragon Boat Fair, the 688 Arts & Fashion Space Fair, a food exhibition and a technology exhibition. Additionally, there were dragon boat-themed consumption scenarios in the Jinji Lake Scenic Area, Moon Harbor and other business districts, with products at favorable prices, coupons and diverse activities that attracted a continuous stream of consumers.

It is worth mentioning that the 2025 Jinji Lake Dragon Boat Race has won Suzhou a place on the list of China’s top 10 most popular folk culture and self-drive travel destinations under the 2025 Forecast Report on Travel Trends During Dragon Boat Festival Holiday released by Chinese on-line tourist service conglomerate LY.com recently.

“The Jinji Lake Dragon Boat Race has become more attractive. In addition to the races, there are intangible cultural heritage, delicious food, and performances,” said Ms. Zhou, who participated in the event with her husband and child.

Performances were staged on the banks of Jinji Lake, while over 60 booths at the Jinji Lake Dragon Boat Fair showcased diverse intangible cultural heritage items. The 688 Arts & Fashion Space Fair comprised over 200 booths featuring intangible cultural heritage items, creative cultural products, music, books and snacks.

In the exhibition zone, Xpeng Aeroht, the electric flying car arm of Xpeng Motors, unveiled its fifth-generation flying vehicle, X2. Other exhibits included virtual dragon boats, and AI-powered chess robots.