City preview · GUANGZHOU

Guangzhou stores wooden dragon boats underwater

After the Dragon Boat Festival, Pantang crews sink their wooden boats to protect the hulls from sun and cracking. In Haizhu Wetland, researchers identified a new species from three tiny beetles. Guangzhou Tower drew 180,000 proposed names, yet locals still call it the Slim Waist. When bauhinia blooms at SCAU, farm machinery joins the student parade.

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Pantang Wuyue New Street · Editorial illustration, not a historical photo

From submerged boats to a campus parade

Dragon boats, three beetles, the Slim Waist, and farm floats

Four complete stories and their public sources are shown here; the rest of the collection is in the app.

01 · Pantang Wuyue New Street

The Dragon Boats Spend Most of the Year Underwater

After the festival, wooden hulls are submerged against drying and cracking until the next season.

Pantang's traditional wooden dragon boats usually lie below the water or mud after the Dragon Boat season. In the fourth lunar month, community crews raise them, clean and repair the hulls, repaint details, and fit the dragon eyes before visiting other villages. Racing fills only a few days; fundraising, shared work, and maintenance last longer. The custom should not be assigned an unsupported heritage rank, boat count, or fixed date.

Source: cssn.cn Source: gz.gov.cn

02 · Haizhu Wetland Phase II Ticket Office

Three tiny beetles became a new species

Three insects barely over a millimeter long put Haizhu in a species name.

During a 2022 insect survey, researchers collected three tiny beetles from phases II and III of Haizhu Wetland. Each was only 1.2 to 1.3 millimeters long and reddish brown, found among longan and lychee groves. After examining tens of thousands of specimens under microscopes, the team confirmed a species new to science and named it Eidoreus haizhuensis after the place where it was found. A city wetland entered the taxonomic record.

Source: haizhu.gov.cn Source: news.sciencenet.cn Source: doi.org

03 · Canton Tower

'Slim Waist' beat 180,000 names

A global contest chose Canton Tower. Guangzhou kept calling it Slim Waist.

Before the new television tower was finished, Guangzhou residents were already calling it Xiaomanyao, or "Slim Waist," after its pinched middle. A 2009 global contest brought in more than 180,000 valid names, including Haixin Tower, Southern Pillar, and Guangzhou Tower. Officials chose the neutral Guangzhou Tower in 2010. Interviewed residents said they would keep the nickname. The landmark left the contest with a formal name and a pet name.

Source: sysu.edu.cn Source: chinanews.com.cn Source: news.sina.com.cn

04 · Bauhinia Bridge, South China Agricultural University

When the Bauhinias Bloom, Farm Machinery Joins the Parade

SCAU's floats really do carry farm machinery, with robot dogs, Cantonese opera, and student clubs following behind.

When the bauhinias bloom, SCAU students do more than look up. The science and culture festival turns smart farm machinery into parade floats, while robot dogs and the drone club make an appearance. Elsewhere are pet clubs, student-made scrolls, and a program that puts Cantonese opera beside street dance. For a few days, an agricultural university's working equipment changes jobs: it leads the procession and poses for photos. Each spring near Bauhinia Bridge, flowers, farm science, and club life squeeze into the same campus snapshot.

Source: scau.edu.cn Source: news.southcn.com Source: hnxb.scau.edu.cn

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