Abstract: This study investigated the nationalization process of an inter-village traditional dragon boat race from the perspective of anthropology by the methods of fieldwork, etc. The study has shown that: 1) Nanchang County Government, Jiangxi Province changed its forms and contents when requisitioning this traditional dragon boat race held in Y Village; 2) the nationalization of the dragon boat race is a process of interaction and collusion between the nation and local society; 3) the nationalization of the dragon boat race mainly has the following effects: Implementing nation-state discipline, strengthening nation-state identity, and improving local governance, etc. Finally, this study summarizes a comprehensive inheritance path of folk sports culture, and explores the logic of folk sports as a technology of governance, the relationship between folk sports and modern sports, the great tradition and the little tradition, and discusses the anthropological issues such as how the nation-state is internalized, constructed and imagined.