I was looking forward to continuing my deep dive into the Asian side of my mysterious ancestral traditions. The tough part is once again hampered by my inability to read the Chinese language. I had enough of a hard time with English in my school years, Chinese being more difficult. Thank God with some help from ChatGPT.
The 2026 Dragon Boat race was cancelled with the 2026 FIFA World Cup taking place this month. The race, usually located in False Creek close to BC Place stadium, is where some of the World Cup matches are scheduled, and our festival race was thus declared an unacceptable security risk. The Festival part itself has been scaled down into smaller private and commercial venues away from the immediate area. My local T&T Asian supermarket continued the spirit of this tradition in serving those special rice dumplings.
Those Delicious Rice Dumplings
They’ve stocked up on a traditional savoury dish that goes back centuries that I can best described as rice dumplings; a glutinous sticky rice stuffed with pork, salted egg yolk and nuts, maybe a Shiitake mushroom wrapped in Bamboo leaves. The leaves we don’t eat, yet they impart an aroma to the rice adding a layer to the taste experience, and improvises as a napkin. These are called Zongzi 粽子. There is also a sweet sticky rice version, and absolutely delicious.
I have memories of my grandmother and her friends coming over to the backyard on a weekend Spring morning. The dried bamboo leaves were already soaking in water fresh water the night they boiled for 10 to 15 minutes and rinsed before being used. By morning Mom and grandma have huge pots simmering hot as the ladies organized the production line.
The aroma of the cooking and gossip filled the yard as dumplings cooked throughout the day. Hundreds were made and divided up among all the participants. Made ready to eat, most will end up frozen in chest freezers until needed at a later occasion or a ready quick meal eaten hot or cold. Then it happened after dinner, they broke out the Majong tables. This is a part of our traditional social thing of course. 🃏🀄️
2024 Republic of Chad 10,000 Francs CFA Dragon Boat
According to the original packaging this 2024 silver coin was minted to celebrate the Traditional Chinese Dragon Boat festival. The description goes on to mention the same start date of the 5th day and fifth month of the Chinese Lunar calendar. The Chinese poet Qu Yuan and the Rice dumplings. Ending with “... a symbol of unity and strength as the rowers must work together to propel the boat forward.”
2024 Republic of Chad 10,000 Francs Dragon Boat.
Reverse; Chinese Dragon Treasure ship pointing left
Left Sail; 天时地利人和 "The right timing, favourable conditions, and harmony among people."
Mid Sail; 帆风顺 "May everything go smoothly.”
Right Sail; 满载而归, "Come home with abundant success."
62.2g, 0.999 Fine Silver
Length 60mm, height 51mm
KM#317
The reverse design suggests otherwise. This is not a Team rowing Dragon boat. This appears more like a larger Dragon ship with huge sails. This design looks more like a tribute or commemorative of Admiral Zheng He’s Ming Dynasty Treasure Ships 1405 – 1433 AD. A massive fleet of Trade ships that made a large trade and political impact between the Indian Ocean and the South Asian Seas that would make Columbus’s Santa Maria look like toy boats in a tub.
Who ever minted this coin may have the historical concepts mixed up, otherwise I love this piece. Like the Republic of Rwanda Navigational ounce series The Republic of Chad is a landlocked country and in a way I find this little inconsistency charming in celebrating a sailing ship or a Boat festival. Should I ever find out who minted this piece I’d like to ask...Why?
Would you consider this an un-acknowledged ‘Error’?
2024 Republic of Chad 10,000 Francs Dragon Boat.
Obverse; Republic of Chad’s Arms
Legend; REPUBLIQUE DU TCHAD.2024. 10000 FRANCS CFA.
145 of 399
Finish; Uncirculated matte finish and antiqued toning.
4 Reasons why I Bought this silver coin.
Dragons are cool.
I like ships and...
I am 'Asian' so why not? And I’d enjoy a deep dive behind this piece but that premium is a problem...
Two clean ounces of silver gives this a that nice chunky feel. I can almost mistaken this as a poured piece if it were not for the matte Antiqued finish. This was milled with a very high relief making this literally stand out. With the very low mintage of 399 that suggested a steep premium when this came out in the Spring of 2024. In early 2025 a sizable chunk of that premium came off enough for me to snap this up. 😁
And that brings me to our next mysterious piece of shiny Culture.
The Dragon Boat Festival silver Bar
Another fascinating piece from Hong Kong and may not likely be found anywhere else in North America and if you guessed that this came from my favorite Asian Dealer, Ben of HK Colonial Coins you are correct! Like many cities all over Chins Hong Kong does celebrate their local Dragon Boat Festival called the Tuen Ng Festival whereas China refers to it as the Duanwu Festival.
Dragon boat Festival Silver Bar
Reverse; Dragon boat profile facing left, Rowing Team, waves
Characters located above drum head; AG 999 15g
Edge; Plain
If your Browser DApp can zoom in, you can see the finer details. Translating the inscription on the obverse I can reasonably deduce that this silver bar was a prize or part of a prize for the First place finishing team. I recall hearing our local organizers having invited winning Chinese teams as guests over to our Vancouver Festival in previous years.
Dragon boat Festival Silver Bar
Reverse; Dragon boat profile, waves
Characters; 独占鳌头 · 龙舟银条 "Take First Place · Dragon Boat Silver Bar"
Characters; 广天生品 Unknown Private Mint or Retailer.
Edge; Plain
I have yet to find any further details; about the private Mint itself, the Sponsors behind it, how many were minted and given out as prizes. I'll have to go to Hong Kong myself to find out. This is a treat of a find Ben and I am grateful for this exciting little prize. Worth every penny.
The Dragon Boat Festival embodies the Legend of Qu Yuan that ties all this festival together into one fun event.
The Legend of Qu Yuan
The story goes way back to the 5th Century BC China in the era of the warring states under the Zhou Dynasty. Qu Yuan (屈原) served as a Chu state minister but he was more popularly known as a poet and patriot of his people. Yuan opposed the Chu’s plan to an un-beneficial alliance with the more powerful Qin. As feared the Qin eventually subjugated the Chu. Saddened by the pettiness and corruption of the Chu leadership and the loss of the Chu Capital, Qu Yuan in a final act of protest drowned himself in the Miluo river.
The Chu people responded immediately to the news of Qu Yuan’s death, boats filled with citizens racing out into the river in a desperate hope to save Yuan or recover the body. When his body could not be found balls of sticky rice were dropped into the river to keep the fish from feeding upon Yuan’s body. Some say the rice was to feed the Spirit of Qu Yuan. Some accounts varied, some details may have obscured in time But to the Common Chinese a folk hero is born. The Race becomes a tradition.
Link to a 7:31 video of the 2025 Dragon Boat Festival in Vancouver and I look forward to the next 2027 Dragon boat Festival around June 9th.
And thank you my friends for joining me aboard my blog today.
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Photos are my own shot with a 2025 Samsung F24 or otherwise indicated. Background: 1972 HSBC 5 Dollars banknote, Pick #181e Background; Reader’s Digest Illustrated Great World Atlas, 1997, ISBN 0-89577-988-9, Page 131. Wiki: The Dragon Boat Festival. Wandering in China; Dragon Boat Festival. P. Image under Pixabay W. Wiki Commons ☠️🎃 Page Dividers by thekittygirl. ❄️🌞 Cameo Raven Brooch from The Black Wardrobe.
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