Colourful festivals of Asia (that you’ve never heard of)
Men wearing ghost masks during the Phi Ta Khon (Ghosts in Masks) festival in Dansai, Loei Province, Thailand (Gavin Gough).
Men riding elephants decorated with gold plated caparisons, at the annual Thrissur Pooram Festival, India (Kimberley Coole).
Dragonboats in the Bun Nam festival where each village competes with their own team and boat, Pakse, Laos (Anders Blomqvist).
Gamelan musicians perform during the Balinese Arts Festival (Andrew Brownbill)
Pulikkali (tiger dance) performers at Onam festival celebration, Kerala, India (Richard I'Anson).
Yi Peng Festival at a meditation centre. Groups of monks release thousands of lanterns into the night sky attached with well wishes. Chang Mai, Thailand (Felix Hug).
Elephants being prepared for Elephant Festival, Jaipur, India (Richard I'Anson).
Prosper Motherland Mass Gymnastic performance, Pyongyang, North Korea (Keren Su).
A band of boys dressed elaborately for the Kadayawan Festival, Mindanao, Philippines (Tom Cockrem).
Lantern Festival at Chiayi, Taiwan, marks the culmination of Lunar New Year festivities (Phillip Game).
A variety of colorful lanterns are seen during the 2007 Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival in Jinju, about 320km(199mile) south of Seoul, South Korea. The flowing lantern festial on Jinju Nam River has its origins in the worst suffering period of Imjinwaeran, Japanese invasion of Korea (1592- 1598) (Seong Joon Cho).
Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival, Pingxi, Taiwan. Sky lanterns are airborne paper lanterns traditionally found in some Asian cultures. They are constructed from oiled rice paper on a bamboo frame, and contain a small candle or fuel cell composed of a waxy flammable material. When lit, the flame heats the air inside the lantern, thus lowering its density causing the lantern to rise into the air. The sky lantern is only airborne for as long as the flame stays alight, after which the lantern floats back to the ground (Craig Ferguson).
- Compiled by Kylie McLaughlin
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