If you can’t visit Thailand for Songkran, or the Thai New Year most notable for its water festival, look no further than New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). Myanmar celebrates a similar holiday during the same time called Thingyan, and water-splashing revelries have been held every year since 1998 at Huasin Street (華新街), which has a large concentration of Burmese residents.
Tradition has it that dousing each other with water washes away the misfortunes of the past year — and it’s also a good way for some respite from the scorching April sun in Bangkok. Saturday will see a high of 29 degrees Celsius in Taiwan; yeah, that’s warm enough for a water fight.
There will also be plenty of Southeast Asian food, song and dance performances from Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and China’s Yunnan Province as well as a variety of craft workshops.
Photo: Chang An-chiao, Taipei Times
■ 10am to 4pm Sunday, Huasin St, New Taipei City (新北市華新街), 15 minute walk from Nanshijiao MRT Station (南勢角)
■ Admission is free. Visit www.ntpc-po.com (Chinese) for more information
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