Buzzing Chinatown on Chinese New Year!

Chinatown has significantly less budget than Orchard Road. That was my constant reaction while spending my evening in Chinatown, Singapore last weekend. I was in Orchard Road the week before Christmas, and the whole road was filled with lots of Christmas trees, lights and other decorations (you can see the post here). Chinatown was all lighted up for Chinese New Year. The lightings and decorations are starkly different from Orchard Road during Christmas!

One thing remained though - the people. There were a lot more of them! It could be because the streets are smaller, and there were more stalls by the streets - but there was definitely the Chinese New Year atmosphere and mood!


There were definitely lots of Chinese New Year decorations being sold - lanterns, wall decorations and "ang pows" (red packets), flowers, household items, and even waxed meat/fish/sausages. Not sure what the latter is supposed to be for! Is it a Singaporean thing?  Because I couldn't remember having that in Penang!







The whole area was definitely filled with lots of reds, like the plastic plum blossom (below left)! Saw this old man (below right) getting ready for his performance, and he started playing the harmonica with one hand, juggling tennis balls with the other hand, and tapping to the music with his feet, wearing clogs. We have seen him before somewhere else in Singapore. He was pretty entertaining! Wonder how old he is...


And here are some of the low budget decorations in Chinatown - one plastic looking "Cai Shen Ye" (the God of Prosperity - below left) and card board Tigers representing the year of the Tiger (below right).


There were many photographers all around the area, taking the opportunity to snap photos and to brush up their photographing skills.


And the best photo taken for the night went to....


HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!

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