Mountain tribes in northern Thailand celebrate their freedom with a wacky swing festival on Sunday (September 8).

The Akha people were once native to China before being conquered by rival factions and forced to flee to Burma in therapy 1900s.

The group - which has more than 40,000 living in the region - now celebrate their freedom once a year with a colourful swinging and dance festival.

Footage from the Akha Swing Festival shows villagers soaring into the sky on a rope swing suspended from 30ft high bamboo poles.

Women in hand-woven costumes and brightly decorated hats are pulled on the rope.

The symbolic act celebrates throwing off the bonds of constraint and is also the tribe's new year celebrations, in line with the peak of the rainy season.

''When you don’t have your country any more, you still can feel free while swinging in the air,'' plays their Akha New Year song.

Hundreds of tourists now visit the remote region, sometimes only accessible by motorcycle to watch the spectacle.

The unique festival is one of the most recognizable in Thailand, with five other tribes which wear different costumes joining in with the event.