After two years of virtual celebrations, the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebration 2023 returns to the streets to usher in the Year of the Rabbit with a wide range of exciting festivities from 1 January to 19 February 2023.
Organised by the Chinatown Festival Committee and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, the long-awaited Festive Fair will return, along with the annual street light-up, weekly stage shows and the Chinese New Year Countdown Party.
The celebration will bring together Singaporeans and foreign visitors alike for this key event in the Chinese cultural calendar. Held in Chinatown, a culturally and historically significant precinct, the celebration aims to promote a deeper appreciation of Chinese culture and traditions, among locals from all walks of life.
Ringing in the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebration 2023 is the Official Light-up and Opening Ceremony on 3 January 2023. Themed ‘Leaping into the Prosperous Year of the Rabbit’, visitors to Chinatown can expect charming dioramas featuring lively and colourful rabbits along New Bridge Road, South Bridge Road, Eu Tong Sen Street, and for the first time, Upper Cross Street as well.
A towering 10m centrepiece of a multi-generational rabbit family reuniting for the Chinese New Year will sit at the junction of Upper Cross Street and New Bridge Road.
Designed in collaboration with students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design, the eye-catching street decorations are a result of months of hard work by a team of students led by Corliss Tay and Phua Rui Yi Sarah, assisted by student coordinator Kong Mei Jia under the guidance of Dr Zheng Kai, Faculty Fellow, Architecture and Sustainable Design.
Ramping up the festive cheer and marking the start of the Chinese New Year is the Countdown Party taking place at Kreta Ayer Square on Chinese New Year Eve, 21 January 2023. Broadcasted live on Channel 8 from 10.30pm, the party features a stellar line-up of performances from Mediacorp artistes.
Apart from the street light-up and countdown party, visitors will be greeted by a dynamic line-up of family-friendly festivities throughout the Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebration 2023.
These include the return of the Festive Fair with 280 stalls selling festive goods spanning Smith Street, Pagoda Street, Trengganu Street and Temple Street, and the weekly Stage Shows held over two weekends at Kreta Ayer Square.
The Chinatown Festival Committee has also partnered up with local gamification startup Sqkii to run the game '(The Lucky Rabbit)’ that encourages visitors, especially digital natives from younger generations, to visit the Chinatown precinct and complete tasks with exciting prizes to be won. The game is available from now till 5 February 2023. For more information, please visit shinmincny.sqkii.com.
As part of the Chinatown Festival Committee’s contributions to make Singapore a more sustainable urban destination, members of the public will be given the opportunity to repurpose street lanterns from the light-up as part of the ‘Adopt a Lantern’ initiative.
The Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebration 2023 runs from 1 January to 19 February 2023. To view the full programme, visit chinatownfestivals.sg.
In anticipation of a larger crowd than the past two years, the organising committee would like to remind all visitors to visit Chinatown earlier in the day, outside of weekends, to avoid crowding.
Auxiliary police officers and security officers will be deployed to manage crowds in the vicinity. In the event of overcrowding, access into Pagoda Street, Trengganu Street and/or Temple Street will be restricted, to ensure public safety. All visitors are reminded to safeguard their belongings and be vigilant against molesters, pickpockets, and thieves while they soak in the celebrative atmosphere.
Visitors should also bag their litter and throw it into the nearby litter bins for a ‘litter-free’ Singapore.
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