People splash water on one another to celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Jinghong City, Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Last week, the Dai ethnic group in southwest China's Yunnan Province celebrated its New Year, with local Dai people and crowds of tourists observing a grand water-splashing festival.
The festive atmosphere was also shared by people in many other East Asian and Southeast Asian countries as the water festival or their traditional New Year was celebrated there.
During the festival, people splash water on one another to wash away all the bad luck from the previous year and begin a new year of happiness and good fortune.
People splash water on one another to celebrate the water-splashing festival at a square in Jinghong City, Dai Autonomous Prefecture of Xishuangbanna, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
People attend water fight to celebrate the Songkran Festival in Bangkok, Thailand, April 13, 2023. Songkran Festival, the traditional Thai New Year, is celebrated from Thursday to Saturday, during which people express greetings by splashing water on each other. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
People celebrate the Sankranta festival, or the Khmer New Year, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 15, 2023. Cambodia kicked off the three-day Sankranta festival, or the Khmer New Year celebration on April 14. (Photo by Ly Lay/Xinhua)
People participate in a street activity celebrating the Songkran festival in Vientiane, Laos, April 14, 2023. The Songkran is a Lao traditional New Year's festival celebrated in multiple ways. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
People spray water to celebrate the water festival in Yangon, Myanmar, April 14, 2023. The Southeast Asian country kicked off its traditional Thingyan water festival in all regions and states on April 13. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua)
Except water-splashing, the festival was also celebrated with various merit-making activities.
Sky lanterns are released during the annual Water Splashing Festival in Jinghong City of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
A parade is held during the celebration of the Songkran Festival or the Lao New Year, in Luang Prabang, Laos, April 16, 2023. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
Dancers perform during celebrations of the Thingyan water festival in Yangon, Myanmar, April 13, 2023. (Photo by Myo Kyaw Soe/Xinhua)
A tourist splashes water on elephants during a celebration for the upcoming Songkran Festival, in Ayutthaya, Thailand, April 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)
People play traditional tug-of-war game at the Sankranta festival in Siem Reap province, Cambodia on April 14, 2023. (Photo by Ly Lay/Xinhua)
Coming just in time for the festival, the China-Laos Railway started cross-border passenger services on April 13, a move that is expected to boost regional connectivity.
The first cross-border passenger train from Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province to the Lao capital Vientiane passes by tea plantations in Pu'er, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)
The first cross-border passenger train departed from the Lao capital Vientiane to Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province, runs on the Ganlanba bridge of the China-Laos railway in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Shan Yuqi)
Lao staff members perform at the first cross-border passenger train from Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province to Lao capital Vientiane on April 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)■
