Rowing teams competed in the yearly traditional dragon boat races on Saturday  in Taipei, Taiwan.

On the Keelung River in Taipei City, athletes were waiting for the starting signal before rowing towards the flags that mark the finish line.

Teams competing for the top races often undergo months of rigorous training to have a shot at winning.

Dragon boat racing is now a sport, but the festival has its roots in Chinese folklore.

It is held held annually on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar to commemorate the death of legendary hero, Qu Yuan, who drowned in the Mi Lo River over 2000 years ago while protesting against corrupt rulers.

The story goes that people attempted to rescue Qu Yuan by beating drums to scare fish away and by throwing dumplings into the water to prevent the fish from eating his body.