Paddlers make haste along the River Arno during the dragon boat race in Florence, Italy, on the afternoon of July 8. [Photo/ cztv.com]

While the Dragon Boat festival may have passed nearly a month ago, in Florence, Italy, a Chinese welfare organization held a spectacular race on the afternoon of July 8 to celebrate and promote Chinese culture.

Throngs of spectators gathered along the banks of the River Arno to cheer for the paddlers as they passed through some of the storied Renaissance city's most famous attractions such as Ponte Vecchio. What's more, the race attracted a great deal of attention on social media with images and videos of the dramatic event appearing on WeChat.

The organization responsible for this paddling extravaganza is Ramunion, a global Chinese public welfare organization founded in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. Since its inception in 2003, the organization has been dedicated to public welfare activities including disaster relief, fundraising, education, and offering a range of social services.

This is the fourth time Ramunion has organized an overseas dragon boat race and it hopes to promote Chinese traditional culture worldwide through such activities.

"Besides showcasing the speed of dragon boat racing, we also exhibit Chinese traditional dragon boats: Jiangcun Dragon Boat. We hope that locals can take part in the spirit of dragon boat racing and help to promote the image of China to the world," said He Jun, the founder of Ramunion.

While the event was about more than winners and losers, the team that eventually crossed the line in first place hailed from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province who no doubt enjoyed the chance to paddle through one of Italy's most famous riverside scenes.

The Chinese traditional dragon boat on exhibition during the dragon boat race held in Florence. [Photo/ cztv.com]