On June 6, 2019, the National Central Library (NCL) held its annual Dragonboat Festival celebration for visiting foreign scholars. The lively festivities began in the afternoon at Bitan Riverside in Xindian, hosted by NCL Director-General Shu-hsien Tseng. Also attending
by invitation were the Director of the Ministry of Education Department of Lifelong Learning, Ms. Yueh-li Huang, Deputy Director-General of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of Policy Planning, Ms. Livia Sun, and more than 40 foreign scholars and their families. They came to experience the festive atmosphere, participate in the dragon boat racing and learn how to wrap rice dumplings in bamboo leaves.

The Dragon Boat Festival is one of Taiwan’s most important festivals. The NCL Center for Chinese Studies put together a special event with the aim of giving the scholars an opportunity to experience Taiwanese traditional culture while fostering international scholarly exchange. The center arranged for the scholars to participate in dragon boat racing and rice dumpling wrapping activities, inviting trainers with international racing experience and festive food master chefs to host the activities by the scenic Bitan Bridge.

Colleagues from the NCL and Ministry of Foreign Affairs helped explain each activity’s cultural background. They also got involved in
the activities themselves, building friendships with scholars through the dragon boat racing and dumpling making competition. At the end, medals were awarded to the dragon boat champion and runner up and for the best-made rice dumpling, rounding out a day that scholars will hopefully cherish for a long time to come.