The Water-Slashing Festival of the Dai Nationality, also called “Songkran” in the Dai dialect (meaning “the New Year in June” or “the New Year in the Dai calendar”), is celebrated in the middle of the sixth lunar month (about ten days before or after the Tomb-sweeping Festival) of the Dai calendar. During the time, the dry season of the Dai region is to be concluded with rainy season coming and plants budding, so the festival is also celebrated for the advent of a new season.

On the day, a carved and colored giant wooden dragon is made as a symbol of the festival. Shaped like a bird with its head and tail holding up high, the dragon is really beautiful and spectacular.