The Water Splashing Festival is the New Year celebration of the Dai people and takes place in mid-April, usually from the thirteenth to the fifteenth, in Xishuangbanna and in Dai communities across southern Yunnan. The Dai calendar is a lunisolar system influenced by Theravada Buddhist practice, and the festival is the moment the old year ends and the new one begins.
Why water
Water is a symbol of purification and good fortune. Originally the sprinkling was delicate - a few drops poured down the neck from a silver bowl, or a sprig used to flick water on someone in blessing - and that tradition survives in the religious part of the festival. The public splashing that visitors see today, with buckets, hoses and water fights in the street, is a more recent and much noisier development, and everyone is fair game once the streets fill up.
The festival programme
The days are structured. Monks and lay people bathe Buddha images at the temple; people release fish into the rivers; there are dragon boat races on the Lancang (Mekong) river at Jinghong; fireworks and lanterns are released at night; and Dai dances and songs are performed in the villages. The Queen of the Festival parade, a well-established part of the celebration, is chosen each year. The splashing itself tends to peak in the afternoons.
What to bring and wear
You will get soaked, so dress accordingly: light clothes that dry fast, sandals, and a waterproof bag for phone, passport and money. Do not wear anything you value or anything that becomes transparent when wet. Protect your camera or leave it at the hotel. The water is the point, and staying dry is not an option in the street.
Practical notes and other options
Hotels in Jinghong are fully booked months ahead for the festival, and transport fills up, so plan early. If mid-April does not suit your dates, other Yunnan festivals are worth planning around: the Third Month Fair in Dali, the Torch Festival of the Yi and Bai in late July, and the horse racing festival in Shangri-La and northern Yunnan in early summer. Dates for all of them follow lunar calendars and shift each year, so confirm locally.
