龙舟(lóng zhōu) - dragon boat in Mandarin

龙舟 (lóng zhōu) means dragon boat, from 龙 (lóng, dragon) and 舟 (zhōu, a literary word for boat, less common in everyday speech than 船, chuán). The long, narrow boats are carved and painted to look like dragons, with a dragon's head at the prow and a tail at the stern.

赛龙舟 (sài lóng zhōu), dragon boat racing, is the centrepiece event of 端午节 (duān wǔ jié), the Dragon Boat Festival: teams paddle in time to a drum while a designated 舟 (zhōu) crew member calls the rhythm, and 划龙舟 (huá lóng zhōu), "to row a dragon boat", needs the same kind of teamwork and timing as any rowing sport.