Laura Mora (3rd R), a Spanish engineer from Airbus China, and her teammate react after the final of the 2024 Haihe Dragon Boat Race in north China's Tianjin on June 10, 2024. On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Laura Mora finished her dragon boat race in the 2024 Haihe Dragon Boat Race for the first time.

Born in coastal city Cadiz, the spanish engineer is familiar with many water sports, but the dragon boat race with a long history stays fresh to her. "Participating in Dragon Boat races is not just for Dragon Boat Festival entertainment to me, but also a good way to discover the cultural inheritance of a new city I lived in," she said.

Tianjin was one of the early northern cities to carry out dragon boat sports. In 1988, Tianjin held the first dragon boat race to commemorate the Water Diversion Project from Luanhe River to Tianjin City. So far, with 36 years history, the Haihe Dragon Boat Race has become an important label of water sports in Tianjin.

"My Chinese colleagues told me that Haihe River is the mother river of Tianjin people, which is also my feelings after taking my first dragon boat race on the river. I will continue to work in Tianjin in the next few years and hope to continue to participate in the Haihe Dragon boat race." Laura Mora said expectantly. [Xinhua/Sun Fanyue]