In mid-April, many places in Yunnan welcomed the annual Water Songkran Festival feast. From the carnival of thousands of people pouring water to the wonderful interpretation of intangible cultural heritage projects, from the warmth of the prayer of Kongming lanterns to the fashion of national clothing shows, to the passionate collision of the half-marathon of the water-splashing carnival of the Chinese and foreign fighting competition, the Water-splashing Festival "splashed" the new vitality of cultural tourism consumption with its unique charm, and painted a new picture of culture empowering economic and social development.

In Jinghong, Mangshi, Gengma, Ruili and other places, the streets, alleys, villages and villages are immersed in joy, and people pour water on each other to "water" a friend. At night, there is a unique flavor on the banks of the Lancang River in Xishuangbanna Prefecture. Kongming lanterns rise to the night sky with people's blessings, as beautiful as dreams.

Pieces of joyful water splashed the local cultural and tourism industry, the popularity of live e-commerce, and the new space for the night economy. Xishuangbanna Prefecture alone received 2.2263 million tourists during this year's Water Song Festival, an increase of 9.57% year-on-year. The total tourism expenditure is expected to be 2.665 billion yuan, an increase of 7.20% year-on-year.

In recent years, the Water Song Festival has changed from a cultural celebration to an economic IP. What we see is not only the lively picture of the ethnic festival economy, but also a micro-microscopic of China's economic development vitality.

The "splashing traffic" of the Water Splashing Festival is an intuitive manifestation of consumption transformation. Nowadays, tourists are not only satisfied with water splashing carnival, but are increasingly pursuing in-depth experience: they personally press a cake of Pu'er tea, experience the traditional skills of slow-wheel pottery making, or participate in a music festival that combines traditional elephant drums and modern electronic music, and walk into Jino Mountain for a rainforest hike... This transformation from "sightseeing" to "immersion" has promoted the diversification of the consumption structure.

The driving effect of the Water Song Festival on the economy is by no means a one-man show for the tourism industry, but a cross-industry concerto of "culture +". Taking ethnic clothing as an example, every link from Dai brocade textile, ready-made garment production to rental and sales contains business opportunities. In an ethnic clothing factory in Wancheng, Ruili City, workers started working overtime more than a month ago in order to allow tourists to wear beautiful Dai clothes during the festival.

Online and offline linkage are also a new highlight of the Water Song Festival. On short video platforms, the number of views of the "Water Splashing Festival" topic is 100 million times, and cultural and tourism departments in various places are rushing to attract tourists with live broadcasts. The travel photography market is particularly popular, not only driving jobs such as photographers and makeup artists, but also giving birth to the "Water Splashing Festival Special Photos". Beautiful pictures are spread on social platforms, making the cultural and tourism industry more prominent.

When splashes turn into network traffic and yearning turns into travel orders, traditional culture becomes the "source of fresh water" for economic development. Pu'er's "water splash + cookie" special gameplay, Mangshi's water splash carnival half marathon, and robot dog parade on the streets of Jinghong City are all refreshing. It is worth mentioning that the popular theme songs of the Water Song Festival spread "splashes" all over the world through the Internet, turning Gengma and other counties into Internet celebrity check-in places, showing the in-depth empowerment of "culture +".

The "culture +" innovation path reflected by the Water Splashing Festival not only reflects the creative transformation of traditional culture, but also emerges the momentum of upgrading cultural and tourism consumption, and also enlightens the deep logic of coordinated development of the industrial chain.

For example, most of the plastic water guns in people's hands come from Chenghai, Guangdong and Yiwu, Zhejiang. These water guns have undergone upgrades from single to diverse products, and are in short supply in the market. Similarly, most of the slippers worn by people during festivals are produced in Jinjiang, Fujian. From the initial flip flops to the new slippers made of EVA, TPU, supercritical foam and other materials, they all tell the story of industrial synergy in the national market.

The "waterproof industry chain" also emerged. Many e-commerce platforms, supermarkets and shops have added "water splashing sets" of "water gun + waterproof mobile phone case". Meituan data shows that during the Water Splashing Festival, the takeaway sales of "mobile phone waterproof bags" and "children's water guns" in Xishuangbanna both increased by 300% year-on-year.

The Water Song Festival is also a vivid footnote to the mutual promotion of domestic and international dual circulations. The Water Splashing Festival continues to add international color, and a large number of foreign tourists come to participate in this "feast", which also makes Yunnan more and more "poetry and distant" in the hearts of domestic and foreign tourists. According to statistics, from January to March this year, the number of tourists in Yunnan Province reached 2.2881 million, an increase of 56.9% year-on-year.

Humanities and economy coexist and prosper, and enlighten the way to development. Whether it is the flood of the Water Splashing Festival or the "breaking circle" of Chaoshan Yingshen, whether it is the popularity of "village super" and "village BA" or the popularity of Xiaoxitian in Xixian County, cultural IPs are integrated into the economic bloodline like living water, and thousands of streams gather into Sichuan, pushing the Chinese economy forward in the wave of the times. (Reporter Ji Zhepeng, Wang Xiansi, Hu Leran)