Stronger than ever, the Shanghai AngelCare ladies share their story.
IBCPC China Rep Beirong Xiong updates readers on the Chinese team that made history at last year’s New Zealand quadrennial gathering.
One year on from their memorable trip to New Zealand, the Shanghai AngelCare dragon boat team (formerly Shanghai Dragon Sisters) are stronger and more determined than ever. And what better time to catch up with them than on the anniversary of their stepping onto that world stage. I travelled to China this spring to see what influence the experience has had, and what lies ahead for the team.
Our reunion took place at a team practice on the Zhang Jia Bang River, one of the city’s oldest waterways. I guest-drummed and later spoke with vice-captain Chun Yan and fellow paddlers at a nearby eatery. Allow me one final stat: it had been five long years since our very first meet-up in Shanghai to introduce these remarkable ladies to the sport of dragon boating.
Some two-thirds of the team went to New Zealand, hoping to meet survivors from other countries and to make their mark as the first team from mainland China to attend an IBCPC quadrennial. “Its all about the people we met,” Chun Yan tells me with a broad smile. “I think most of us were nervous going there but all that changed when so many paddlers from different countries welcomed us with open hearts.”
The trip left an indelible impression on each woman. “The experience was a happy, unexpected shock to our lives,” says team captain Dina. “For those paddlers who went to New Zealand there was no hesitation signing up for France.” Eighteen of them have already committed to the 2026 gathering. France will be the first quadrennial for eight additional paddlers.
“It wasn’t just the festival or the paddling,” adds Yan. “Some women were still in the shadows with their diagnosis, but when they saw so many women being open about their diagnosis we felt no hesitation to come out.” Of the many friendships forged in New Zealand paddlers were especially taken by one Australian paddler still giving it her all at 89 years of age.
Back in Shanghai, team members shared their experiences with each other and with those who stayed behind. One lady who opted not to go to New Zealand said she would definitely… absolutely must…go to France! “When they saw our videos and powerpoints their decision was very easy,” says Amy.
ChunYan says the trip has definitely shifted the team culture in the boat. “Before New Zealand our captain was responsible for supporting and building the team. Now all paddlers are pitching in. There is a really happy atmosphere here, one of enjoying our sport to the fullest.”
The team has also made some interesting changes to their training. They established a volunteer Team Captain-on-Duty position to help paddlers warm up at practices. Yan says the duty captain can be creative about the warm up, adding to it anything that’s on their mind. “We’ve discovered some really great creativity and talent among our paddlers.”
All the paddlers are members of the AngelCare Foundation. It aided the team’s growth from the very beginning and encourages non paddling members to take to the water.
“Seeing really is believing,” says president and founder Amy Lu. Amy was an early adopter of dragon boating for improved recovery. “This experience has shown us that dragon boating is a good way to recover from breast cancer. I can see their passion and the impact paddling is having on each woman. We have all seen it with our own eyes, so when others see our spirit and our health improving so much from paddling it has a huge impact on them.”
Amy says the expectation for 2026 is to meet old friends and make new friends. “We never forget that the reason we are doing this is to help women recover.”
BREAKING NEW GROUND NEAR AND FAR
Team captain Dina says paddlers are encouraged to share their stories and by all indications news of the team’s success is travelling far and wide across China.
Local and national media gave special coverage to the team when it paddled in Suzhou during this year’s Duan Wu dragon boat festivities. It was a very public scene of breast cancer survivors thriving together for all to see and admire.
This summer, people tuning into the popular national TV program Red Sunset watched a moving 25-minute documentary about the Shanghai AngelCare BCS Dragon Boat team and the story of one paddler’s personal journey after diagnosis. The program, aired twice and available now for replay on CCTV-12, follows Zhao Jie and her struggle with cancer, a recurrence and second mastectomy while on the team, and her determination to triumph over self-doubt to accompany her teammates to the New Zealand gathering. The TV program reaches many millions of households in every corner of the country. Viewers praised Zhao Jie for her candour and bravery, with some expressing surprise that dragon boat paddling was beneficial for cancer recovery.
Jie’s teammates were also moved by her story. “I could feel every word Jie uttered,” says Elaine. “I’m so encouraged by her courage and motivation. She touched my heart.”
“Jie’s experience represents our journey,” says Amy. “We all went through that. It brings us back to our past. It isn’t easy.”
The Shanghai AngelCare BCS paddlers are charting new territory, fostering ever greater awareness of the health benefits of dragon boating after diagnosis. With every telling of the team’s story come opportunities for people to reset their own views of breast cancer, most especially to overcome their fear, to get regular tests knowing that the earlier the diagnosis the better the chances of a full and happy recovery. There are encouraging signs of more breast cancer survivor teams forming in other cities. Some held a friendly meet last year in Nanjing.
My visit to the Shanghai team was inspiring in so many ways. These ladies had a dream to be happy, hopeful and healthy again through dragon boating. They pressed on together, through COVID, through personal fitness challenges, facing their fears and sorrow head on. Mutual support, determination and belief in themselves took them to the world stage in New Zealand. That story is now available to everyone across their country to view and marvel at. I am so very moved by their example to all of us who take up the paddle to move ever closer to our dreams of a better future.
Thank you and best wishes for continued success Shanghai AngelCare ladies! You are showing the world that dreams really can come true. Paddles Up!
