Water festival marks New Year for Dai ethnic group as misfortune washed away
As the April sun bathes Yunnan province in golden light, the Dai ethnic inhabitants have transformed their homeland into a jubilant aquatic playground for the annual poshuijie, or water splashing festival, which has attracted visitors from China and abroad.
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The water splashing festival is one of the most important events for the Dai people, who mark the event as New Year and organize activities like splashing water, releasing Kongming lanterns into the sky, and dragon boat races. It was listed as State-level intangible cultural heritage in 2006.
The festival symbolizes washing away the past year's misfortunes and welcoming new beginnings through purification.
In the Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, the celebrations kicked off on Saturday in a spectacular blend of tradition and modernity.
In a square in Jinghong, a city in Xishuangbanna on Tuesday, thousands of people armed with water guns, buckets and bamboo basins drenched each other amid roars of laughter, as the more water people splash on you, the luckier and happier your life will be.
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Apart from the water fun, visitors enjoyed a grand parade along major streets in Jinghong with flower-decorated float processions and performances of traditional Dai dance.
In other communities, residents in vibrant Dai ethnic costumes performed traditional dance before engaging in friendly water wars.
This year, Xishuangbanna has introduced helicopter rides for aerial views of the water battles, and invited internet influencers to share their experiences under trending hashtags so that more people can experience the joy of water.
"It's where tradition dances with today, and everyone from different ethnic groups and nationalities, becomes family," Chen Xuanliang, head of Xishuangbanna's publicity department, says.
As the festivities continue into early May in the province, the echoes of laughter reverberate will attract more and more visitors.
