April Water Splashing Festival (Four, Jinghong)

Number of days: 12 days
Time: April
Average cost: 8,000 yuan
With whom: husband and wife
Updated: 2025.02.25

Jinghong, the capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, has a permanent population of about 500,000. Due to the numerous festivals of local ethnic minorities, all of which are lively and full of local customs, it has attracted the attention of people across the country. The most famous one must be the Water Splashing Festival, which is the New Year of the Dai people. Every April, more than one million migrant workers come to celebrate the festival. In addition, nearby cities and counties also have the Black Lantern Festival, Cherry Festival, Horse Racing Festival and so on. Anyway, as long as you have money and time, you can almost catch up with the festivals here. This is Yunnan.

My earliest impression of the Water Splashing Festival was probably the old movie "Five Golden Flowers". During the festival, the villagers loved to hide everywhere, holding basins and making sneak attacks. No matter how embarrassed the people were, they would laugh heartily, which made people feel their inherent simplicity.

We came from Kunming by high-speed rail on April 13th. As soon as we got off the train in the afternoon, we were greeted by a sea of people. Due to the carnival in the city, all buses and most taxis were stuck in the city. There were at least thousands of people stuck in the small bus station, and everyone was scrambling for every taxi that passed.

It was over an hour later that we finally got a taxi outside the station. When we booked our accommodation a few days ago, the online information showed that all the hotels and B&Bs were fully booked. It was my wife who kept looking for bargains and finally found a B&B in Jiangbei. The driver clearly told us that we definitely couldn't take the Xishuangbanna Bridge in the city center, and could only take a detour via the Liming Bridge outside the city. However, by chance, the accommodation we booked was not far from the Liming Bridge, next to the Xishuangjing scenic spot in Gaozhuang. The scene before me was filled with festive cheer. Water stains dotted the streets, and buckets of water were often placed outside businesses for battle. Nearby, men and women, exhausted and listless, were returning from water fights in the city. Everyone was polite, though, most greeting and asking for permission before spraying water, just for the fun. All the surrounding restaurants were packed, overflowing with people inside and out. Everyone was in perfect harmony, playing water fights away from the dining area, so they didn't disturb each other and enjoyed the harmonious atmosphere. After settling in, I headed out to see the Xishuangbanna Bridge, a place I'd heard people talking about all day but hadn't gotten to see. You can have water fights along the way and release sky lanterns near the bridge. It's said that all flights over Jinghong before 10 PM tonight are grounded for the lantern ceremony. The local government is really doing their best to ensure a lively and safe festival! Unexpectedly, the first thing I saw not far from home was a quarrel between two northerners in the street. It turned out to be a family of three strolling around when a single soldier in full gear approached. The husband looked at the other man with a murderous look and quickly said, "We're a family of three with a child, so stop yelling at me." But unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, a few streams of water sprayed onto him, and he immediately erupted in cursing. The soldier even complained, "Didn't we say we can't get angry these days? Why are you being so aggressive?" Fortunately, the locals had no interest in watching, and they kept their verbal exchanges to themselves. After a while, they probably tired of the cursing and dispersed.

Afterwards, we wasted quite a bit of time riding the local shared e-scooters. We were only 800 meters from our destination when my wife, tired of walking, suddenly wanted to ride an e-scooter. We happened to meet a couple along the way who were asking for help, saying they couldn't find a place to return their e-scooter. My wife, eager to help, took their e-scooter. But as we approached our destination, the e-scooter kept saying we were out of range, and there were no parking spots. We followed the app's navigation and headed back the other way. We finally found a roadside parking spot, which was over a kilometer from our destination. We spent dozens of yuan and wasted dozens of minutes, only to find ourselves getting further and further away. So funny! I'll never ride again!

From Day to Night

As we approached the Xishuangbanna Bridge, we saw a park with a bustling crowd. There were guards at the gate, but we could enter by simply registering with the app. Their main concern was to prevent people from bringing sky lanterns inside. Since we'd already bought two near where we were staying when we arrived, it felt a bit shameful to just throw them away. After much deliberation, we decided to hide the lantern inside our clothes and bring it with us.

I had originally planned to stop by and had no expectations. But upon entering, I was completely blown away by the first sight! It was absolutely stunning! This turned out to be the legendary Starlight Night Market. This was supposed to be a large-scale venue along the river. Once we entered, we were right behind the auditorium, with a drop of more than ten meters to the ground. Gazing from afar, the view was filled with brilliant, dazzling lights for hundreds of meters. A large-scale folk song and dance performance was underway on the prominent main stage, the music melodious and impressive. Nearby, numerous smaller stages dotted along the riverbank were also performing. From a distance, the area below looked bustling with activity. The bustling crowds filled the square below, the small bridge in the distance, and the island beyond. Radiant with bright lights, the scene was breathtakingly beautiful. Looking towards the entrance, there were groups of beautiful women in traditional Dai costumes snapping photos, perhaps hundreds in total. Perhaps for the photos, their makeup was incredibly heavy, and they looked more captivating from a distance. My wife inquired and learned that they were all offering photography packages, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand yuan. The concentration of beautiful women here is primarily due to the large number of pagodas, which create even better photos when paired with traditional costumes. It's the saying that life is rough, but your circle of friends is refined!

Below the spectator steps are the most common food stalls. Prices are indeed quite high here, with small snacks starting at thirty or forty yuan. However, the overall spending power of tourists here is indeed strong, so shops are often bustling with activity, and most tourists eat while walking. By comparison, the spending power of people in Northeast China is much lower, and budget travelers are the majority in Changchun. This year, I took my daughter to the newly opened Ningxi Park. The riverbanks were bustling with people, and I bought her an ice cream cone for a few yuan. The vendor complained, "Even though there are so many people in the park, I've been here for over four hours and only sold four or five. I can't make a living." This is probably why the Northeast's ice and snow economy has a special fondness for these "Southern Little Potatoes"—after all, the spending power is there! The shopkeeper said it's mainly because it's peak season, so prices are about a third higher than usual. But when is peak season? The shopkeeper couldn't help but count them off: After Songkran, there's May Day, Children's Day, summer vacation, National Day... It sounds like peak season is half the year.

If the noise is too much, you can go to the small island in front. The music there is much softer, more like a bar. There are many small stages along the river, with all kinds of handsome men and beautiful women performing. The main focus is on being lively, with no forced consumption, which actually makes the atmosphere more relaxing and comfortable to spend. My wife found a reclining chair by the river, enjoying the quiet amidst the hustle and bustle, sipping a drink and watching the scenery and the performances. Not far ahead is the place where they release sky lanterns, but the sky lanterns that sell for 2 yuan outside are over 20 yuan each here. I took some pictures of the whole painting process when I had nothing to do. It doesn't look like...

When it was time to light the lanterns, the scene of the sky full of stars was really spectacular. Thousands of Kongming lanterns soared into the sky, and the subsequent points of light continued to flow. Looking up, it seemed to illuminate people's hearts. I wrote blessings for my loved ones on my lantern. May God bless them and make them come true!

The next morning, I did morning exercises and measured the distance. The circle from Xishuangbanna Bridge to Liming Bridge is about 11 kilometers.

Lancang River

Daytime is the time for battles, and the streets are full of soldiers holding water guns. Many young people, just for fun, carry exaggerated equipment and hold team flags and shout along the streets. When the teams meet, they will scold each other. The advantage is that there's no physical contact, and the one who retreats when running out of water generally loses. At one point on the street, climaxes kept occurring, drawing nearby people to join in the fray. The biggest fun of the two days was beating up the police. This holiday privilege was incredibly rare, and everyone cherished it. Whenever a police car appeared on the street, water would spray down from all directions. These days, police officers are the most lovable of the lot; the moment they step out, they're drenched. As police cars dwindled, those on bicycles and equipped with gear became prime targets for positional warfare along the streets, often spraying them to the ground before they could get far. Of course, there were also the on-the-go pickup trucks, pulling huge buckets of water, surrounded by a circle of people, taunting the crowds. Occasionally, someone nimble enough would jump in and join the fray. Watching everyone's boisterous outbursts was truly exhilarating! We walked along the street, away from the battlefields, and didn't get wet much. We drank a bag of Laotian coffee on the way. The owner, a Han Chinese who lives here year-round, enjoyed the festive atmosphere, but also kept complaining: "I've never heard of paying for water during Songkran." These days, filling a water gun on the street costs between 2 and 10 yuan, but it's said that if you pay at the same place, you can refill it multiple times.

While chatting, we unknowingly talked about Laos. In my impression, it is a place where you can easily lose kidneys. But he said that it would be fine. His sister just came back from Laos these few days, so it would be safe even for a girl. It is very common for locals to go there, and now there is a high-speed rail. It’s just that the cost of joining a tour group is relatively high, which is completely unnecessary and easy to be constrained. What he said made us want to go and experience it. I simply exchanged glances with my wife and said, okay! Let’s not go to Dali - next stop, Laos!

There was a float parade in the evening. The floats were all sponsored by major companies and were very beautiful. In front, colorful floats paraded, their handsome men and beautiful women posing in alluring poses. Behind them, processions of all sizes in ethnic costumes marched and danced in unison. The most intoxicating thing was the live folk music, perhaps local classics, with a powerful rhythm. The sound echoed in my head even when I went home to sleep. The third day was the actual festival itself. The whole city went wild, a battlefield, with one climax after another. The conspicuous packaging also became increasingly common. I remember vividly how some people carried buckets of water, over a meter tall, with "100 tons" written on them. Some even brought shampoo bottles with them, which they would lather up whenever they felt like having a good time.

When we arrived at the first square in Gangnam, it was already packed with people. A ceremony was still taking place in the center, and the several pools in the square were filled with water. Only today was the water completely free. After the ceremony, at the command, people poured in from all directions. I later heard that there were probably over 60,000 people in the square, and everyone's weapons had switched from water guns to basins. This was truly the most exciting day I've had in years. My wife and I, even in our raincoats, were soaked to the skin. We quickly dispersed, and no one knew each other. A basin of water might have suddenly appeared out of nowhere, drenched from head to toe. The girls, despite being novice swimmers, were the most popular; they must have experienced the thrill of swimming. I staged a surprise attack, dumping several basins of water on a girl from behind while she was battling the person in front of her. I guess she choked. A few minutes later, as I was preparing for another surprise attack, the person chased me from nowhere, dumped a large basin of water on my head, and then walked away laughing.