Songkran Festival (潑水節) in Little Burma

There are over 40,000 Burmese Chinese in the Zhonghe District, which is 10 percent of Zhonghe's population and is one of the largest communities of Burmese Chinese outside of Burma.

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Huaxin Street (華新街), in Zhonghe near the Nanshijiao MRT Station, is home to "Little Burma." A street filled with stores and restaurants selling Burmese products and food. Burmese cultural events are held there on occasion.

Foreigners celebrating Songkran in Taiwan

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One such annual occasion is Songkran, which is celebrated in April each year. The Burmese believe that splashing water washes away one's misdeeds and dirtiness. So the Songkran Festival is celebrated at the beginning of Burmese New Year. 

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At the festival, the street is filled with people of all ages splashing each other with water to wash away the dirtiness of the old year in order to have a clean body to welcome the New Year. There is also a stage where traditional dance and folk songs are performed. The "water battles" are loads of fun to watch. People use a variety of ways to splash and spray each including using water ladles, buckets, toy water guns, and water pipes.  Many westerners also take part in the festivities. I was keen to join in the activities too but would have been impossible to do without getting my camera soaked.

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If you in Taipei, I'd recommend checking it out in April. It is worth also worth going there at any other time of the year to try out authentic Burmese food. The dishes there were just as good as the ones I tried in Burma.

Getting there:

• MRT: Take orange line to Nanshijiao MRT station in Zhonge, then turn right on Xingnan Road and go straight for about 15 minutes until you get to Huaxin Street.
• Bus: Bus 242, 249, 670 or the Zhonghe District Shuttle Bus to the Huaxin Street Stop. 

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To see more of my photos of the people of Taiwan, please visit http://imagesbykenny.com/

To learn more about interesting places and sights to visit in Taiwan, check out my list of Places to see in Taiwan

 

2013 Dream Parade in Taipei

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I've heard about and seen some interesting photos from past Dream Parades in Taipei, but I had never been to one. These parades are an annual Mardi Gras-style event put on by the Dream Community.

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The Dream Community is an art-centered community founded in 2001 by Gordon Tsai and partners.  It is situated in Xizhi, New Taipei City. It puts on the annual carnival parade in Taipei, and also sends artists and musicians from Taiwan and abroad to towns and villages around the country to promote artistic activities.

Tsai was inspired by carnivals around the world, such as the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, Rio de Janiero’s Carnival, Seattle’s Fremont Solstice and the Burning Man festivals in Nevada. 

© Photographer: Imagesbykenny | Agency: Dreamstime.com This year's parade, held on October 19, was fabulous. The streets between the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial and Ketagalan Boulevard were filled with revelers dressed in costumes of glitter and feathers, live bands, Aboriginal children's drumming teams, "samba grannies," and elaborate floats.


The parade started at 3 p.m. when the revelers started off at the main gateway of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall plaza. They then went up Zhongshan South Road along the 1.2 kilometer route and heading back to Ketagalan Boulevard where the parade ended at a stage area in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Each year a group of foreign artists are invited to live and work in the Dream Community and take part in the parade. This year, a five-person team from France lived there for three months. Their float was a giant “demon fish” float named Boing Boom Tshaak, which to me was the most impressive float there.


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Teams from Brazil, Japan, America, and Indonesia, as well as design and architecture students from several Taiwan universities also took part in this year's parade.

The founder himself, Gordon Tsai, took part dressed as a purple fighter.  Wearing purple body paint, he danced around the floats on the street while breathing fire.

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One of the focal points of the parade is the Aboriginal children's samba drumming teams from communities and villages around Taiwan. About 35 teams took part in the National Dream Cup Samba Drum competition. The teams were all excellent. As a former percussionist I realize the difficulties involved with playing samba grooves without being culturally immersed in the tradition. But the children pulled it off, subtle nuances and all.


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If you didn't make this year's parade, be sure to catch it next year. It is definitely one of the most interesting and colorful events in Taipei.


To see more of my photos of events in Taiwan, please visit http://imagesbykenny.com/