Recently, the Water-Splashing Festival in Yunnan Province has reached its peak, dominating the top five of the city's trending topics. Among various prefectural and municipal events, the "Water-Splashing Battle" of ten thousand participants along the Ruili River in Mangshi, Dehong, and the "Star River" of Kongming lanterns by the Lancang River in Xishuangbanna have gone viral online. Meanwhile, Kunming has firmly secured its place on the trending list with its "city landmarks, business districts, and youthful ways to have fun". At the Kunming World Horticultural Expo Garden, young people dressed in Dai costumes danced the "Dai Disco", while water splashes and lights intertwined, creating into a sea of revelry...

The popular Water-Splashing Festival stands out this year

The Water-Splashing Festival in Yunnan is a traditional New Year celebration of the Dai and De'ang ethnic minorities and a national intangible cultural heritage. Typically held in mid-April each year, the festival centers around water-splashing as a blessing, blending ethnic traditions with modern creativity. 

The Water-Splashing Festival in 2025 will be grand in scale, featuring a vibrant mix of traditional and trendy elements. Blessing ceremonies, ethnic dance and music parades, and a massive water-splashing battle involving ten thousand people will be held at venues like Mangshi Square and the banks of Ruili River. Performances of intangible cultural heritages such as the elephant-foot drum and peacock dance will be highlights. Meanwhile, amusing moments like "foreigners joining the water fight", or the comic struggle of "not being able to take off the slippers", bring joy to the crowd and have become "secret ingredients" on social media.

Kunming locals find their ways to have fun

Recently, venues such as Kunming World Horticultural Exposition Park, Yunnan Nationalities Village, the Qingyuwan Water Park in the Seven Color Yunnan Gudian Resort, and Laoyuhe National Wetland Park have successively launched a series of festive events, including the Second World Expo Flower Water-Splashing Carnival, the First Laoyuhe Leye Water-Splashing Carnival, the Sunac Dianchi Houhai Water-Splashing Festival, Xing Feng Zuo Lang TKP Dai Dance Water-Splashing Festival, and the "Let's Splash Together" Water-Splashing Electronic Music Cultural Festival. 

Young people dressed in Dai costumes roam the "market fair" set up in the shopping mall's atrium, and the energetic combination of water guns and electronic music parties, known as "Dai Dance", brings the atmosphere to a thrilling climax. The convenience of direct subway access allows office workers to join the water splashing straight after work, with the main themes being "emotional release" and "spontaneous revelry".

During this year's Water-Splashing Festival, Kunming seized the opportunity to turn up the heat by leveraging "water" through various means such as "shopping district revelries, cross-border collaborations, and youth-centered experiences", turning traditional culture into the "secret ingredient" in attracting tourists from all over the country. 

Besides diverse new cultural and tourism experiences such as performances, immersive park tours, and drone shows, Kunming was also impressed with the thoughtful service. At the Kunming World Horticultural Expo Garden, in response to the sudden drop in temperature, staff kindly served ginger tea made from old ginger to drive away the cold, warming both the stomach and the heart of the visitors. Star-rated changing rooms and instant-drying facilities were also provided, making it easy for visitors to transition from "soaked to the skin" to "fashionably refreshed." These upgraded experiences have allowed the "Yunnan-flavored" Water-Splashing Festival to retain the core cultural value of "water-splashing for blessings" while expanding the festival's appeal through creative, immersive new formats.

It is worth noting that from April 14th to 16th, the "Water Splashing Festival and Business Gathering in Mohan" investment promotion event was held at the square outside the Mohan Railway Station on the China-Laos border. At the event, the festival kicked off with the traditional Gaguang dance and water-splashing ceremony performed by the Dai people in their festive attire, accompanied by the rhythmic beat of elephant-foot drums. People of all ethnic backgrounds joined in, splashing each other with silver basins and water guns as a symbol of blessing. The joyful interplay of water and dance created a vibrant atmosphere of ethnic unity. 

At the long-table banquet in Nanga Village, Dai brocade weaving and Hani folk songs were showcased in turn, and guests and villagers danced together in a traditional unity dance, immersing themselves in the lively atmosphere of the border village. According to preliminary statistics, during the Water Splashing Festival, the number of tourists received in Mohan increased by 150% compared with the same period last year, and the popularity of border tourism continued to rise. The event also saw the signing of cross-border cooperation projects, extending the "water splashing effect" beyond culture into the realm of economic collaboration.

As the popularity of the Water-Splashing Festival continues to grow year by year, this city-wide celebration involving the entire community not only deeply embeds the cultural symbol of the Water-Splashing Festival into modern life, but also opens up new paths for the integration of culture and tourism and regional economic development through innovative practices of "promoting tourism through culture and festivals". 

The festival reflects the unique character of the city and serves as a mobile cultural calling card for Yunnan.

Click here to view the Chinese report

(Editors: Carl, Ines)