When China’s Zhou Enlai Joined Thingyan Festivities in Yangon

[geovalin]

Thanks to The Irrawaddy

 

YANGON — On this day in 1960, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai made a rare and symbolic gesture of goodwill by joining Myanmar’s traditional Thingyan new year celebrations alongside then-Prime Minister U Nu, marking a high point in Sino-Burmese relations.

 

Wearing traditional Burmese attire, Zhou embraced the festivities in Yangon—then known as Rangoon—celebrating the water festival in spirited fashion. It was a moment that underscored the strong personal rapport between the two leaders and their commitment to fostering close bilateral ties during a delicate post-colonial period.

 

This wasn’t Zhou’s first encounter with Myanmar’s cultural traditions. In 1957, just after recovering from illness, he travelled with Foreign Minister Chen Yi to Xishuangbanna, near the Myanmar border, to welcome U Nu during Chinese New Year. Despite warnings from Beijing colleagues to avoid exertion or getting wet, Zhou enthusiastically participated in the traditional water-throwing celebrations.

 

The 1960 visit wasn’t merely ceremonial. It laid the groundwork for a formal border agreement between the two nations—an issue of significant importance at the time. In the months that followed, Zhou and U Nu also cooperated to push out Kuomintang troops who had taken refuge in northern Myanmar after fleeing China’s civil war.

 

The images of the Chinese statesman celebrating Thingyan, shoulder-to-shoulder with his Burmese host, remain a powerful symbol of cultural diplomacy in the region’s Cold War-era history.

 

-2025-04-15