Taiwan Culture

Taiwan's 'Little Myanmar' Hosts Subdued Thingyan New Year Festivities

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By Eason Chen/Tiffany Wong

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Thingyan, or Myanmar New Year festivities were subdued in Taiwan this year following the deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Mandalay that killed over 3,600 people. The lively holiday marked with water fights instead focused on prayer and raising relief funds for those in Myanmar, where celebrations are also tightly controlled by the military junta.

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Somber Myanmar New Year in Taiwan as Earthquake Devastates Homeland 

Myanmar’s New Year holiday, Thingyan, is usually marked by days of joyous water fights, music, and dance meant to wash away misfortune. But this year, the Chinese Burmese community in Taiwan swapped celebration for mourning after a powerful earthquake devastated their homeland. 

A magnitude 7.7 quake struck Myanmar in late March, killing more than 3,000 people and displacing tens of thousands. In New Taipei’s “Little Myanmar” district, members of the diaspora prayed for the victims and collected donations for relief efforts. 

“The main point of [this year’s] event is to express our concern for the disaster victims in Myanmar,” said Lee Pei, chair of the Myanmar Overseas Chinese Association in Taiwan. “In the past two weeks we’ve raised nearly US$200,000 and have sent it to the most-affected victims.” 

Normally a bustling center of festivity, Little Myanmar still saw vendors and visitors donning traditional dress and sharing food, but the mood was subdued. Buddhist monks gently flicked water over visitors in a symbolic gesture of cleansing, while community members tied yellow strings to trees as offerings of prayer. 

Local restaurants joined the effort to lift community spirits. Wu Tsui-mei, owner of Golden Peacock, said her restaurant gave away free meals, a Thingyan tradition she was determined to uphold even in a time of grief. 

“Every year during Thingyan we treat the community to a meal for free,” she said. “Although we’re not splashing water, our kindness is still there.” 

Many regular performers at New Year events chose instead to spend the holiday in quiet prayer. Tsao Fang-ling, a dance teacher with the Myanmar Overseas Chinese Association, said the emotional toll of the disaster was too great to celebrate as usual. 

“It’s really different,” she said. “Our hearts are still feeling [heavy]. The earthquake was very serious. Some of our family and friends were crushed to death.” 

The somber mood in Taiwan reflects a broader reality in Myanmar. In Mandalay, a major city near the epicenter, the ruling military junta banned public celebrations, including music and dance, during the New Year holiday — a grim decision in a country already suffering under the weight of civil conflict and political instability. 

Despite the distance, Myanmar’s diaspora in Taiwan remains closely connected to their homeland. As the full impact of the quake continues to unfold, they are vowing to provide continued aid and support.