The Tai Lue (Dai) established a kingdom in southern Yunnan in the 12th century, known as "Sip Song Pan Na". Located next to the Burmese and Laotian borders, this kingdom was associated with three other Tai kingdoms, one in Burma (today's Shan State), another one in northern Thailand (Lan Na, Chiang Mai) and the last one in northern Laos. The Han Chinese put together four characters to create a meaningless name and it sounds like "Sip Song Pan Na" : "xi-shuang-ban-na".
The Dai are part of the Thai family. According to their calendar, they celebrate New Year in April, organizing festivities equalling Boun Pimai in Laos and Songkran in Thailand. The celebrations last for three days and include bathing the Lord Buddha, rocket launching, dragon boat racing on the Mekong, and the sprinkling of water onto one another for good fortune.