The painting "Dragon Boat Race" by Ju Lian records the excitement of a regatta at the Lychee Bay in the western part of Guangzhou, or the area of Xiguan and Bantang today. It was done on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival in 1858. Ju Lian and his friends had planned to go to Guangzhou to watch the dragon boat race, but were held up and unable to go. Instead, he painted the rousing scene from memory. The four people in white at the crowd on the shore are supposed to be Ju Lian and his friends.   Close