The Dai Water-splashing Festival is a traditional festival popular in Yunnan Dai settlements, and it is one of the national intangible cultural heritages. The Water-Splashing Festival is also called "Bathing Buddha Festival", which is called "Sangka Bimai" in Dai language (meaning New Year), and the Dai people in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Region and Dehong Dai Jingpo Autonomous Region also call this festival "Shang Han" and "Shang Jian". Both names are derived from Sanskrit, meaning turnover, change and transfer, which means that the sun runs around the zodiac and begins to transition to the New Year.
Achang, De 'ang, Bulang, Wa and other ethnic groups celebrate this festival. Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and other countries also celebrated the Songkran Festival. The Songkran Festival is usually held in the middle of June in the Dai calendar (about ten days before and after Tomb-Sweeping Day in the lunar calendar), which is one of the grand traditional festivals in Xishuangbanna. Its contents include folk activities, art performances, economic and trade exchanges and so on. Specific festival activities include splashing water, throwing pendulum, dragon boat race, bathing Buddha, chanting, singing Zhang Ha, peacock dance, white elephant dance performance and so on.
The Influence of Dai People's Songkran Festival
Many cities and regions in Yunnan Province have launched water-splashing festival tourism activities to attract tourists from all over the country. Taking the Dai Garden in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province as an example, through the innovative development of the Dai Water-splashing Festival, it is perfectly integrated with the tourism industry, creating an excellent national cultural industry and attracting many tourists at home and abroad. By 2009, the scenic spot had received more than 410.9 million Chinese and foreign tourists, and directly arranged10.067 employees, thus realizing the dynamic simulation research of the intangible cultural heritage tourism development system.
Through the tourism development of the Dai Water-splashing Festival, on the one hand, it provides financial support for the protection and inheritance of the Dai Water-splashing Festival, on the other hand, it also better promotes and inherits the traditional culture of China. The Songkran Festival is an important link to strengthen the great unity of the people of all ethnic groups in Xishuangbanna, which has played a positive role in the friendly cooperation and exchanges between Xishuangbanna and Southeast Asian countries and in promoting the social, economic and cultural development of the world.