2024 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac. Reason enough to thumb through our dragon snapshots from all over the world. Considering that the dragon is a mythical animal, we had rather a lot of dragon travel experiences! From East Asia, where dragons are quite positive creatures, to (Eastern) Europe, where they are often depicted as threatening beasts. And usually a hero duly arrives to kill the dragon. The following countries are just a small personal selection of the places where we have encountered dragons during our travels.
The Dragon in the Chinese Zodiac
The Chinese Zodiac is an important concept not only for the traditional Chinese calendar, but also for fortune-telling and horoscopes. Each year is assigned a Zodiac animal, in a 12-year cycle. One of these Zodiac animals is the dragon. Others are, for instance, the rat, the tiger, the ox, and the rooster. These animals represent certain personality traits that – people think – apply to those born in each year.
According to legend, the animals held a race to determine who would represent the calendar months. Surprisingly, it wasn’t the horse, the tiger, or the dragon who won but more mundane animals. The strong and steady ox was on his way to winning the race because he never got distracted. But the small rat, aware that almost everyone else was faster, had cleverly hid between the ox’s horns and jumped forward when they reached the goal. That’s why the cycle of the Chinese Zodiac traditionally starts with the year of the rat (or mouse), followed by the year of the ox (cow). The dragon only came in fifth in the race. But that was not because he was slow, but due to his noble acts of assisting numerous humans and animals along the way.
In Chinese culture, the dragon is an auspicious animal. It is a mythical, spiritual creature with supernatural powers, including power over waters and rain. Therefore, people born in the Year of the Dragon are considered especially blessed. In the Zodiac of some Southeast Asian countries with Chinese cultural influences, the snake (naga) sometimes takes the place of the dragon.
China: The homeland of dragons
The most captivating dragon travel destination is certainly China. Historically, dragons were associated with the Chinese emperors and the Chinese people believed in the protective powers of the dragon. The Chinese rulers used to place large spirit walls at the entrances of their palaces to deflect any harmful spirits. And often these walls were decorated with nine different dragons. The oldest and largest of these so-called Nine-Dragon-Walls stands in the Chinese city of Datong. It is a stunning sight with its nine colourful huge dragons crafted from ceramic tiles. Built around 1392 during the Ming Dynasty, the wall is 45.5 meters long and 8 meters high.
Of course we also found dragons in the Forbidden city in Beijing, the huge palace complex of the Chinese emperors.
Another place where we encountered dragons was the Beijing Ancient Observatory. Built during the 15th century utilising the knowledge of Jesuit missionaries, it is one of the oldest observatories in the world. Today you can see some beautiful old astronomical instruments on the observatory grounds.
Contemporary artists in China also use the dragon motif in their art, as we saw in an exhibition in the Dashanzi art district in Beijing.
Taiwan: a good place to start your dragon travel
Taiwanese temples sport a lot of dragons too, standing in the same Chinese tradition. In fact, dragons may be more ubiquitous in Taiwan than in Mainland China because quite a lot of the old Chinese culture has survived on the island. They often guard Buddhist temples sitting on the roofs. For instance, we have seen them at the Confucius Temple in Teinan or the Matsu Temple in Anping.
And we had fun with souvenir dragons, too!
Dragons on the Okinawa islands in Southern Japan
Admittedly, Okinawa is a part of Japan, but the dragon culture in Okinawa is historically different. Dragons in Okinawa resemble their Chinese – or Taiwanese – siblings more closely. After all, Okinawa was independent of Japan until the 19th century, as the Kingdom of Ryukyu. These beautiful dragons on the subtropical island of Ishigaki are part of a memorial for shipwrecked Chinese indentured labourers.
Dragon travel in Japan – cute water spouting dragons everywhere
Dragons in Japan are most conspicuous in Buddhist temples: Dragon paintings adorn the ceilings of temple halls, like this one at the Kenninji Temple in Kyoto.
Unfortunately, quite often tourists must not take pictures inside the temple halls. And many of the water fountains located outside the temple entrance, where you clean your hands, are stunning dragon statues too!
Dragons in Europe
Traditionally, dragons have a far less benevolent image in Europe than they have in the East. European dragons are also mythical creatures, and quite often they are dangerous adversaries of Christian heroes. They are the stuff of folk tales and religious legends. For instance, Siegfried, the hero of the Nibelungen Saga, slays a dragon and becomes invincible by bathing in the dragon’s blood. Also, St. George, a Christian knight, is particularly famous for slaying a dragon. Images of St. George battling or killing the dragon are therefore the most typical way you will spot dragons while travelling Europe.
Images of Saint George the dragon slayer in Europe
We found this dramatic statue of Saint George vanquishing the dragon on a pleasant, cobbled street in the Old Town of Stockholm.
There are different variations of the story behind St George and the dragon – but the core is roughly as follows: In present-day Turkey, a dragon living outside the city walls extorted tribute from the villagers. When they ran out of food and treasures, the dragon demanded human tribute once a year in return for peace. One year, the king’s own daughter was chosen as a sacrifice. St George was a military officer in the Roman army who set out to slaughter the dragon. He was thus saving the princess’s life and freeing the villagers from the dragon’s tyranny. This story of oriental origin found its way into the Christian narratives of Western Europe during the crusades.
In addition, St George slaughtering the dragon is also a motif frequently depicted in art.
Slovenia: Dragon travel, European-style
Some Eastern European countries have a particularly strong tradition of folk tales about dragons in their impenetrable mountains and forests. Slovenia’s capital of Ljubljana even has a dragon as its heraldic animal – and nowadays, as a city mascot! In fact, we have met the mascot dragon of Ljubljana personally multiple times on the ITB tourism fair in Berlin before ever going to Ljubljana. And guess what? The cute dragon was one of the reasons we decided to visit Ljubljana. Once there, we loved all the dragons in town, including the mosaic dragons by the French artist Invader.
Another reason to visit Ljubljana is the architecture by Jože Plečnik.
Dragons in Berlin
The city of Berlin is not old enough to sustain that mediaeval European tradition of dragons as a stabbing material for Christian knights. But you can find some dragons in the wide range of prestigious museums, of course. And do look out for the Berlin Giant Kite Festival in autumn, taking place at the abandoned Tempelhof Airfield. Since the word for kite in German – Drachen – is the same as for dragon, there’s bound to be a dragon among the kites!
And then there are some dragons in our flat too! On the wall in our kitchen and sometimes in the cookie jar!
Where else to sight dragons in Europe
We met this little dragon in the choir stalls at the St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva. The mediaeval church is famous as a place where the Protestant reformer John Calvin preached. But we could not find out whether the dragon should protect the faithful or threaten the sinners.
We also took a picture of a beautiful dragon candlestick in the town hall of Volterra in Italy.
Dragons sightings while travelling in Africa
While we haven’t consciously seen any dragons in sub-Saharan Africa, there are certainly dragons on the continent. As far as we know, they seem to be related to the Christian tradition, however. So, there are images of dragon slayers in churches dedicated to St. George. Like these depictions in Ethiopia – one of the oldest Christian traditions in the world.
This was a fun post to write – but it will never rank on Google. Let’s be honest – who looks for dragon travel in the search engines?
Where did you encounter dragons on your travels? We are looking forward to reading about your dragon story in the comments!
NB: We had no sponsoring for this travel blog post about dragons around the world. This post does not contain affiliate links.
Never miss a new post! Get notifications about new posts straight into your inbox!
Use this image to pin!
I was captivated reading about the different meanings and depictions of dragons you’ve come across. From the auspicious, spiritual creatures in Chinese culture to the more menacing, beast-slaying legends in Europe, it’s striking how varied the dragon mythology is depending on the region. I also loved reading how the positive, rain, and water-controlling attributes were reflected in the magnificent tiled Nine-Dragon Wall in Datong.
How fun to think about places to find dragons to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. We certainly did see a lot of dragons when we visited China. So I guess I should not be surprised we would find them as well if we ever get to Taiwan. I have less memories of finding them on our European travels. But it would be fun to find them as balloons in Berlin. Reminded me of dragons on Chinese Lanterns at the summer CNE fair in Toronto.
Dear Linda, you are right, this was really a fun post to write. We both like dragons and usually we take a lot of pictures too!
Love all the history in your post! Fun to learn about dragons throughout history, and significance in different regions and cultures. It would be fun to keep an eye out for this art while traveling.
This is such a fun theme! The only dragons I’ve seen are in Slovenia and I think in England. Okinawa and Taiwan would be dream destinations for me, to see these dragon statues and much more. I was also enamored by the dragon temple in China, it’s so impressive that they’re still standing after all this time!
Dear Lisa, actually the dragon wall is not at a temple, but a protective wall for a building. But I can see that the monk passing by is missleading.
I’m impressed by your dragon-themed travels around the world. I had no idea that according to the Chinese Zodiac, 2024 is the Year of the Dragon. The pictures are amazing. It’s incredible to see how dragons are revered and depicted differently across cultures—from the auspicious symbols of power and good fortune in East Asia to the symbolic representations of challenges to be overcome in European legends.
Dear Agnes, thanks for stopping by. Well – actually the travels were not really dragon-themed from the outset. On the occasion of the Year of the Dragon, we have rummaged through our photo database and came up with this blog post idea. It was fun to write!
I do associate the dragon with the Chinese New Year and the Chinese zodiac. I have never really thought that we actually have our dragons too, here in Europe. And whilst we don’t celebrate it in the same way, we do have a day dedicated to St George and we all know his legend. This reminded me of the dragon of Brno, in the Czech Republic – which funnily enough is not really a dragon but a crocodile.
Dear Joanna, I have to look up this dragon in Brno. Actually we are thinking about a long weekend in Brno at the end of April!
Great post on the dragons and where to find them! I am aware of 2024 being the year of the dragons as per the Chinese Zodiac. I have also seen dragons in the Forbidden City in China. The dragon kites flown around the world are quite interesting and fun to watch. Thank you for the detailed dragon mythology and beliefs in the asian countries vs Europe. I have seen fortune cookie boxes with dragon images as gifts for the Chinese new year 2024 – with uplifting messages of good luck inside! Enjoyed your blog post! 🙂
Dear Jan, thanks for stopping by at the blog. Glad, that you enjoyed the post! And all the best for 2024, Year of the Dragon.
Interesting article! I’m from Indonesia and ular naga is dragon in Indonesian. (ular means snake.) After reading your article, I wonder why the image of a dragon in Europe is the opposite of that in China or Taiwan. And how two different continents could have a myth of a dragon. The dragon’s paintings at Kenninji Temple are funny. One dragon looks scary and the other looks surprised.
I did not realize the significance of the dragons all throughout the world but it is interesting to know that it’s also present in Europe. I have seen the dragons in Taiwan and they are grand and fascinating. By the way, thank you for sharing the story behind the order of the Chinese animal signs. (By the way, I was born on the year of the Rat) I definitely learned something new today.
Your post reminded me that this is indeed the Year of the Dragon and I went on to check how many of my friends are pregnant. Yes, the Dragon year is considered auspicious in the Chinese community – so much so that people target to have Dragon babies. It is as well nice to read about the other side of the coin : in Europe where heroes are depicted as having slayed dragons. Does not matter this post does not rank high in Google, it is such an entertaining read and rated high with me!
Dear Adele, thanks for your king words! Happy that you enjoyed the post!
This is such a fun roundup of places to see dragons. I don’t know why I would have expected them all to be in Asia, but I love that there are so many in Europe. I’ve never thought about dragons much when traveling, but this year, I’ll be on the lookout!
Dear Jennifer, it is fun to watch out for dragons! And I promise, you will find them in the most unlikely places!
Your exploration of dragon sightings around the world offers a fascinating journey through mythology, culture, and art. From the auspicious dragons of China to the heroic tales of St. George in Europe, dragons symbolize various themes and beliefs across different regions and traditions. Vivid descriptions of encounters in places like China, Taiwan, and Japan highlight the diverse ways these creatures are depicted and celebrated. Whether guarding palaces in Beijing or adorning temple roofs in Taiwan, dragons captivate the imagination. In Europe, from statues of St. George in Stockholm to dragon-themed festivals in Berlin, dragons are both mythical and symbolic. Your acknowledgment of dragon sightings in Africa, particularly in Ethiopia’s Christian tradition, underscores the global reach of dragon mythology. Overall, your post provides a delightful exploration of dragon travel experiences, inviting readers to share their encounters with these legendary creatures.