Ever heard of a “Body Sale” festival? Sinister as the title sounds, it's only the festival's origins that are unseemly, the festival itself is fun fun fun! Dongguan, as with all the other Chinese cities, hosts big parties and festivals to celebrate all of China's major holidays, including Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, Lover's Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Lantern Festival and Tomb Sweeping Day, but also has a few other festivals of its own. The aforementioned “Body Sale” festival harks back to the days of slavery. In those times, rich landowners would come down to what was basically a Labor Fair, where all of the unemployed workers and slaves for sale would congregate in hopes of finding some gainful, if not very poorly paid, employment. The slaves and petty laborers would splash water on each other for good luck, a ritual which later caught on with the rich landowners and later evolved into a full-blown, city-wide, good-luck water fight not unlike Thailand's internationally known and uproarious Songkran festival.

 

Other interesting festivals and events include the Qintong Boat Festival, the Lychee Festival and the Humen International Fashion Fair. The eponymous Qintong Boat Festival happens in Qintong, involves boats, Dragon dances and takes place in early April.  

 

The Lychee Festival happens right in the middle of tourist season - late June in Hengli. Lots of fairs and performances are organized to celebrate the region's tastiest, juiciest fruit. If you've never had an apricot-sized lychee before and are in the area, we'd suggest that you don't miss the opportunity to try one.

 

Finally, the Humen International Fashion Fair is the most commercially significant festival, with hundreds of local and international brands filling huge exposition grounds and putting on multiple, beautifully-executed fashion shows in a variety of themes (An example of a typical festival itinerary can be found here). The festival takes place in November, ensuring that festival goers need not fear the intense heat and humidity that prevails in Dongguan summers.

 

For those wishing to take in some of the local nightlife, you need to do little else but head to Dongcheng Jiuba Lu (Dongcheng bar street) where a host of local bars, pubs, clubs and KTV's await Dongguan's patrons and revelers. Canadian expats might want to check out Strange Brew at Ming Yue Yi Xiang, while those looking for an authentic Chinese experience might want to go it a la KTV with some locals - K KTV in Global Plaza, also on Dongcheng rd, is probably a good place to start.