Bureaus Exclusive
Water Splashing Festival celebrated in Xishuangbanna
By Ye Jun and Guo Anfei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-04-16 09:22
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 People observe Water Splashing Festival, a traditional festival for Yunnan's Dai ethnic people, in Jinghong county, Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province,on Thursday. Water splashing is the climax of the New Year on Dai calendar, from April 13-15. [chinadaily.com.cn]
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Xishuangbanna was at war. Everybody was fighting each other--with water.
Hundreds of thousand of people at Jinghong, capital of Xishuangbanna, took to the streets yesterday, for the annual Water Splashing Festival on April 15. Despite of lurking concerns about an unprecedented drought in 100 years, this year's festival remained a revel, although to a lesser scale.
The city of Jinghong used to experience a traffic congestion on the Festival at 9:30 am, according to a local taxi driver, surnamed Liu. That's when the festival used to start, and it would last until 5pm, for the whole day. But this year, the Government shortened splashing to within two hours, from noon-2pm, in an effort to save water. Therefore, the traffic jam didn't come until 11am.
Zhu said in the past years, he would need to lock the doors and up the windows of his car, as people would be splashing water inside if he didn't.
"The car was flooded on the floor, and I had to change my clothes three times," he said. "Even so, I was happy."
36-year-old woman Dao Yongzhen, of Dai ethnic, participated the splashing with her husband, and 8-year-old son after breakfast. They were equipped with barrels, basins and water guns. Who they would splash water on?
"Anyone in the street, especially pretty young women and handsome young men," she said.
People started to flush into the main streets at 10 pm. By 11pm, Menghai Lu, was full of people. The city government organizes a water taking ceremony at Lancang River, and a blessing ceremony at the Water Splashing Square, just along the River.
At Binjiang Park, where there are several ponds, people started splashing at 11:30am. But most people waited until noon, when organizers announced the start of the festival at Water Splashing Square. Thousands of people started a frantic splashing.
It was with happy smiles and excited scream when people splashed and got splashed. Starting from early morning, vendors spread an array of water splashing tools: handguns, Men in Black style machine guns, and even grenade - balloons filled with water. Or one can just simply buy a small basin or bucket for a few kuai - these can not just splash, but also be used as helmets.
The Government used to provide plenty of water on the street, at fire mains, inside flowerbeds, and at fountains. But this year these were open only for two hours, and there seemed to be a shortage of water. At Xuanwei Dadao, several housewives poured water down from 3rd and 5th floors on their apartment buildings to young people below looking eagerly for ammunition.
Still, the streets were full of young people and kids splashing water to whomever they find a good target. Quite a few pickup trucks were adapted into "war chariots", paved with plastic sheets so as to be able to carry water in them.
People also headed to Lancang River, where they dipped themselves in the shore and start splashing. The river showed an unusually amount of beds because of the drought. But on April 13, Jinghong Water and Electricity Station opened its gates to discharge water into the River, so that the traditional boat racing could go smoothly.
According to Duan Jinhua, vice-director of Xishangbanna Prefecture's Publicity Department, every year 200 to 300 thousand tourists come to Xishangbanna to join the local people in water splashing. This year, the number of tourists was not reduced by Yunnan's drought.
Water splashing is part of Dai ethnic people's celebration of the New Year in the Dai calendar, lasting from April 13-15. It is a time to ask for blessing, as well as rain, so important for the hot and humid region.
Revered Buddhist monks with the Xishuangbanna Buddhist Association sung scripts in Jinghong yesterday before the water splashing to pray for rain. According to Chen Xuegang, secretary of Jinghong's municipal committee of the CPC, in the past several years it would usually rain during the several days of Water Splashing Festival. But this year, there has yet not been any. Highest temperature already hit 37 degrees.
