· Street lanterns in the shape of Tiger will light the streets of Chinatown to bring in the festive mood and welcome New Year with hope and confidence
First time Collaboration with local art partner, Temenggong Artists-in-Residence, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (Singapore) to raise awareness ontiger
conversation
· “The Wishing Tree” at Chinatown Point is back after a year, where donations received will be given to the less privileged residents residing in the Kreta Ayer-
Kim Seng Community to build a more caring community
4 January 2022 – Singapore – The much-anticipated Chinese New Year Street light-up in Chinatown will take place from 7 January 2022 to 2 March 2022.The theme of this year’s celebrations is “Usher in a Roaring New Year”, as we welcome the Year of the Tiger. To kickstart the celebrations, there will be a virtual ceremony, which will be taking place on the Chinatown Festivals’ Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/chinatown.festivals/) at 7:00pm on 7 January 2022. The virtual event will also feature messages and greetings from the President of Singapore, Madam Halimah Yacob, and the Adviser to Jalan Besar GRC Grassroots Organisations, Minister for Communications and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs, Mrs Josephine Teo.
The event is organised by the Chinatown Festivals Organising Committee and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board. The Street Light-Up concept was designed in collaboration with students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).
The design features the powerful Bengal tigers, with the largest of these artworks being as massive as up to 4.5m in length and almost 5m in height. Spanning 880 metres along the Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road, there will be over 300 lantern pieces in total, featuring more than 60 tigers which were all handcrafted by experienced craftsmen.
Members of the public will be able to observe these majestic tigers in a myriad of different stances, as they leap, crouch and walk, demonstrating their energetic dynamism. The highlight of this year’s lantern display is a towering 10.5-metre-tall tiger family, with tiger cubs
holding on to the ingots and gold coins that depicts the art of keeping fortune (守財) for
better days.
For the ever first collaboration with Temenggong Artists-in-Residence and the World Wide Fund for Nature (Singapore), tiger sculptures will be displayed at the Kreta Ayer Square to raise the awareness on tiger conservation. The iconic “Chinatown Wishing Tree”, located at the Chinatown Point, will also be available for public to purchase a card at $2 and write their wishes, before displaying them on the tree. All donations received through this campaign will be contributed to the less-privileged residents residing in the Kreta Ayer–Kim Seng Community.
There will also be several interesting and exciting online activities suitable for the young and old to enjoy and to bond while learning more about the traditions and culture of Chinese New Year. The online activities include a live streaming of Getai performance, a step-by-step Tiger Origami tutorial, a love letter baking video and a video, where viewers can learn to make the iconic Chinese New Year dish, Pen Cai, presented by a local experienced chef.
Visitors to Chinatown can also visit the Shopee booths along Smith Street, where one can buy sample size Chinese New Year goodies at the designated vending machines. Participants will also stand a chance to win exclusive deals and lucky draw prizes on site. This collaboration with e-commerce platform, Shopee, marks the second year of the partnership with the Chinatown Festivals Organising Committee.