FUZHOU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of strong young men held up a 791.5-meter parade float in the shape of a dragon Monday evening in Gutian county of the eastern province of Fujian, breaking the Guinness record for the world's longest parade float of 204.53 meters set in Taiwan last year.
The adjudicator, Cheng Dong, presented the Guinness World Record certificate to the organizer Hua Tiande, chairman of a council for the Hua clan.
Hua said his group started to make the dragon float last week. The dragon's head was two meters high and had a red ball in its mouth.
Monday coincided with the Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of Chinese Lunar New Year, and features parks filled with lanterns and dragon and lion dances to end the New Year celebrations.
Performers on Monday braved heavy rain to break the record. The dragon float they carried was accompanied by a band playing drums and gongs.
Hua said dragon dancing had a history of over 400 years in Gutian. He said he hoped the Guinness record would help boost the traditional art, and make the county more attractive to tourists.
