Gulao water town has nurtured many water-related cultures. For example, "Dragon Boat Race" is a traditional program in Gulao Water Town. Every year before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, water towns are filled with joyful atmosphere, and gongs and drums are everywhere. These days, those ancient laborers who worked hard in other places will consciously return to their hometown, have the money to pay, make a strong contribution, select elites in the village or "dock" as a unit, and practice shirtless. There is a saying here: "The first day is together, the second day is taboo, the third day is fourth, and the fifth day is sixth." It means that on the third and fourth days of the fifth lunar month, at the intersection of Shaping River and Gulao River, Gulao people always hold dragon boat races. Every year, the dragon boat race is crowded with people, gongs and drums are loud and firecrackers are ringing. In the river, the shadow of the paddle is flying and the shouts are intermittent. By then, more overseas Chinese and compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao will travel thousands of miles back to their hometowns to watch the grand ceremony, or take part in the competition in person and bathe in auspicious "dragon boat water" as their happiness.
As the saying goes, "one side of the soil and water support one side of the people", the beautiful landscape of Gulao water town makes celebrities here come forth in large numbers. For example, Hu Die, a movie star who was a smash hit in the 1930s, Liang Zan, the first generation winner of China, and Wang Zebang, the founder of the famous brand "Wang Lao Ji Herbal Tea" in China, all have their hometowns in Gulao. More than a thousand years ago, Su Dongpo, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, passed by here by boat on his way to Hainan. When he saw the towering ancient banyan trees and beautiful scenery, he even "stayed" and rowed ashore for a few days. Today, Dongpo Pavilion, a mountain village on the slope of Xijiang River, is the place where Po Gong berths his ships.