A grand water-splashing festival opened Saturday in Mangshi City of southwest China's Yunnan Province, with tens of thousands of tourists and local residents gathering at a square to joyfully splash water on one another, wishing happiness and good fortune.
During the festival, people of all ages dressed in festive attire, playfully "attacking" others with their water blasters, buckets and bags.
"I bought this costume, this waterproof phone bag, and this water bag," said a tourist surnamed Pan from the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou.
Data shows that in the two days before this year's water-splashing festival, tourists arrivals at various scenic spots in Mangshi soared by nearly 20 percent year on year, giving a big boost to the local economy.
"Business is flourishing as there is an increasing number of customers. I mainly sell water bags and buckets. More people buy water bags," said a vendor surnamed Xu.
"I feel that it gets better year by year. I feel that this year we have big streams of people than last year. It rained twice yesterday, but we still took dozens of orders," said Song Zhengyan, manager of a tourism photo studio.
Local authorities have capitalized on this festival to spur consumer spending by hosting a variety of captivating activities, such as music concerts of ethnic flavor, ball games, and half-marathon races to enrich tourists' festive experiences.
A roadside banquet of more than 200 tables with each containing 10 diners is one of them. All the seats have been booked in advance.
The annual water-splashing festival is a major traditional festival of the Dai ethnic group. Typically held in mid-April, this vibrant celebration features playful water battles symbolizing blessings.
People celebrate water-splashing festival in Yunnan
