YANGON, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar authorities are preparing to organize the unique floating Thingyan festival on Inle Lake in Nyaungshwe township of Shan state, a local official said on Friday.
"We are now preparing for the floating Thingyan festival. It will last four days, from April 13 to 16," the official from the Nyaungshwe township administration office told Xinhua.
The festival attracts visitors and boosts the income of local people, he said.
"Last year, the number of visitors was larger than we expected. All hotels and restaurants were fully occupied during the festival period," he added.
One of the main purposes of the festival is to attract and entertain visitors, as Nyaungshwe is a popular tourist destination, he said.
The 489,721-hectare Inle Lake is one of Myanmar's major tourist attractions.
This year's floating Thingyan festival will include various entertainment programs, with additional new activities still under discussion, the official said.
The distinctive feature of the floating water festival is splashing water on each other from boats. The first floating Thingyan festival was held in 2019.
The floating Thingyan festival is a unique form of celebrating Myanmar's traditional New Year Ata Thingyan Festival, which was inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity last year. ■
