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Events

7 Reasons to Visit the River Hongbao

Chinatown may be the epicentre of Chinese New Year celebrations, but you shouldn’t overlook what’s happening in other areas. From now to 14 February, you can make your way to the Float @ Marina Bay and enjoy the River Hongbao festivities!

What is the River Hongbao?

If you want to experience Chinese New Year celebratory culture, the River Hongbao is where you should head to. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the River Hongbao is an annual festival that brings the best of Chinese celebrations to the public. As you can imagine, the event has evolved over the course of its 30-year history. So what can you expect from the River Hongbao this year?

Dazzling Performances

Vibrant getai and nostalgic xin yao song performances are yearly fixtures of the River Hongbao. This year, in addition to these, there will be international troupes performing too. These include dancers from Taiwan and multi-award-winning song and dance performers from Nanjing!

Amazing Fireworks & Pyrotechnics

Who doesn’t love fireworks? The team at Visitors.sg definitely does! There will be fireworks and pyrotechnics every night at 9pm, with the exception of Chinese New Year eve (7 February) when the fireworks will be let off at midnight instead.

Drool-worthy Food

Street food! Be tempted by the array of sinful, delicious foods. Not only are local favourites like laksa, satay and nasi lemak available, a bit of international flair has been added in the form of Thai salad, mango sticky rice, kebabs, churros and fried Oreos.

Carnival Fun & Games

There’s plenty of activities to keep the young and young at heart entertained too. Enjoy the carnival games and amusement rides, or bounce on the inflatable castle. Try your hand at arcade games or cool off at the water play area. And for budding paleontologists, there are 3D animatronics dinosaur rides! There’s also a Walking Dinosaurs Tour, both of which are the first in Singapore.

Traditional Crafts

Of course, the River Hongbao won’t be complete without traditional Chinese crafts. If you’re looking for someone to do Chinese calligraphy, or want a stone seal with your name carved in it, look no further. You’ll be able to find these here. Clay teapots? Check. Little clay statues? Yep. Fancy maltose candy shaped into fantastic dragons, koi and other animals? Of course! You’ll find all these and more at the River Hongbao.

Immersive Decoration

Even if you’re not intending to spend any money, there’s plenty that’s free to see. Exquisite giant lanterns and dioramas from Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical novels of Chinese literature, will be dotted everywhere. Of course, the iconic giant God of Fortune will be there too – no harm asking for a little money luck this coming year, eh?

Photo Exhibition

If you’re interested in seeing how the event has changed over the years, take a gander at the photo exhibition that’s been put together to commemorate the River Hongbao’s 30th anniversary. Featuring over 200 photographs, this is a rare insight into this little slice of history.

When: 6 to 14 February

Opening Hours: 2pm to 11pm (6, 8 to 14 February) & 2pm to 1am (7 February)

Where: The Float @ Marina Bay

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