JINGHONG -- The Dai ethnic group in southwest China's Yunnan Province ushered in the Dai New Year on Saturday, with both local ethnic Dai people and crowds of tourists observing a grand water-splashing festival.

The water-splashing festival is perhaps the prime example of the trans-cultural nature of parts of Yunnan. Celebrated from April 13 to 15, the festival marks New Year for the Dai ethnic minority. The water-splashing festival is also observed in other countries and regions including Thailand, northern Laos and eastern Myanmar.

The annual water-splashing festival has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage of China.
On Saturday, ethnic Dai people in the Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County, Pu'er City of the province marked the festival by splashing water on one another to wash away all the bad luck from the previous year and usher in a new year of happiness and good fortune.
"It is the first time for me to participate in a water-splashing festival, and I feel more delighted than the time when we had a snowball fight in northeast China. I also have had a great time and really enjoyed the local delicacies here," said Guo Yanxi, a tourist from northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

In addition to splashing water, local people would also launch gaosheng during the festival, which are homemade fireworks crafted by the Dai people. These are created by packing the lower section of bamboo tubes with gunpowder and additional substances, then fastening them to a bamboo ladder structure using lead wire. Upon ignition, the rockets shoot up into the sky and burst into spectacular displays of light. The person whose gaosheng reaches the greatest height receives a prize and earns considerable local praise.
Local people would also celebrate their New Year with delicious food and tasty tea.

On Sunday, a grand float parade consisting of 3,500 performers and 12 themed floats was staged in Jinghong City in the province's Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture to celebrate the festival.
On Saturday, the city held a dragon boat race on the Lancang River as part of its annual celebrations, attracting 20,000 to 30,000 tourists from home and abroad to watch the race.

Flying kongming lanterns is a time-honored Dai custom. On Saturday night, people gathered in an open space and lighted candles inside the lanterns. Aerostatic buoyancy sent them to the sky where they float like countless stars, so paying tribute to deities, sages, and men of virtue.