Water Dragon Festival in Guizhou makes a splash to bless the year

Dejiang County in southwest China's Guizhou Province ushered in the annual Water Dragon Festival on Monday, where tens of thousands of people splash water on each other as part of a ritual to pray for favorable weather and a good harvest.

Following tradition, the Water Dragon Festival consists of three main events: water initiation, sacrifice, and water splashing. After the 36 straw dragon teams held a sacrificial ceremony according to local tradition, the dragon dancers waved the straw dragons and paraded through the streets along a designated route. 

The straw dragons rolled and leaped, wound, and coiled. Wherever they went, the residents and tourists waiting along the streets eagerly sprayed clear water onto the dragons and the crowd with water guns, basins, ladles, and even buckets. Everyone, from the dragons and dragon dancers to passersby, was drenched – but no one dodged the water. Only bursts of cheerful laughter echoed through the streets.

Originating from the folk tradition of straw dragon dancing, the Water Dragon Festival has a history of over a hundred years in Dejiang, and was included in the fifth batch of representative projects of intangible cultural heritage in Guizhou Province. Every year, locals dance with straw dragons and splash water on one another in hopes of favorable weather, a bountiful harvest, and national peace.

This year's Water Dragon Festival in Dejiang was more diverse. In addition to the straw dragon parades and water-splashing carnivals, it also featured exhibitions and sales of agricultural specialties, local delicacies, and cultural and creative products. Traditional Nuo dance parades and Nuo Opera performances attracted crowds of tourists.

Taking the most basic element of "water" as its bond, the Dejiang Water Dragon Festival connects tradition with modernity and prayers with laughter. The timeless wish for health and a bountiful harvest has been passed down through generations of water-splashing celebrations, remaining fresh and vibrant to this day.