A total of 4,247 eggs successfully “stood up” in Hsinchu City yesterday as part of the Dragon Boat Festival tradition, breaking the Guinness World Record set in 2005 in southern Taiwan.
A total of 5,500 people were brought together by the Hsinchu City Government at an “egg standing” event, where they attempted to simultaneously balance eggs.
According to folk culture, it is believed that a person will have a year of good luck if he or she can balance an egg upright on a table or on the ground at noon on the day of the festival.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
The festival, celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar, fell on yesterday this year.
The organizer of the event distributed one tile and one raw egg to each person at the Hsinchu Municipal Stadium. Participants had to balance their own eggs within 60 seconds.
Hsinchu Mayor Hsu Ming-tsai (許明財) cheered with the participants when Guinness World Records Adjudicator Blythe Fitzwiliam announced that the attempt had broken the previous record set in Chiayi County in which 1,972 eggs were made to stand successfully.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
In celebration of the festival, dragon boat races also hit the waters around the nation yesterday.
In Taipei, the race was held with a record number of participants eyeing prizes totaling NT$4 million (US$133,590).
The competition was more intense this year, with the race schedule adjusted from the original three days to two days because of Tropical Storm Talim, the Taipei Sports Office said. The races will continue today at Dajia Riverside Park and awards will be handed out on the same day.
A record 207 teams in all divisions — Open Division, Institution Division, Administrative Division and High School Division — are competing in this year’s Taipei International Dragon Boat Championship, the office said.
Besides the boat races, the festival also featured a series of traditional rituals, including dragon eye dotting and an activity for making zongzi (粽子, glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves).
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
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