Illuminated Chinese landscapes and heritage displays at Gardens by the Bay Mid-Autumn Festival 2019.
It’s the eighth lunar month. With that, it
means mooncake bazaars, Chinese fairy-tale inspired lanterns, and for those of
us at that era of life, “Red Bombs” i.e. Chinese wedding invitations!
For me, it also means it’s time to do my two annual posts on Mid-Autumn festive light-ups in Singapore. 🙂
Like last year, I began with Gardens by the Bay. In comparison, this year’s lanterns cover a smaller area, which depending on your walking route, may or may not be a good thing.
The main showpiece of a huge revolving lantern is also something quite different from the usual. Personally, I found this innovative after years of static, non-interactive centrepieces.
Without further ado, here are the pictures I took last night. FYI, I took about an hour to “cover” everything. Naturally, this means that I skipped the stage performances too.
Dragon Dance. The “tunnel of lights” for Gardens by the Bay Mid-Autumn Festival 2019.
The animated String Puppet set piece. I like this one. It’s colourful and that stage with the Chinese musical instruments is well-designed.
Colonnade of Lights. This is another yearly feature? According to the official website, these paper lanterns were painted by Singaporeans from different walks of life.
Illumination of Joys! At the pathway leading to the Supertree Grove.Joyous Union. Another very elaborate set-piece. One that features one of the most popular happenings of the eighth lunar month outside of mooncake binge eating.
If you’re aren’t Chinese or Singaporean, and you’re wondering, the lunar eighth month is traditionally one of the most popular months for marriages. Thus the Red Bomb I mentioned above i.e. wedding banquet invitation. (Invitation = red packet = expensive wedding gift)
Close-up of one of the panels of the revolving lantern. This tells the story of Hou Yi and Chang’e i.e. the tragic Chinese myth behind the Mid-Autumn festival. You can also walk into this immense lantern, btw.
“Oh man … What did you eat this time, woman?”
“Those new slimming pills you brought back? Hon, they made me feel light enough to fly to the moon!”
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. 😛
The set-piece right beside the food stalls. This one doesn’t have a name, though.Assortment of other lanterns on display at Gardens by the Bay Mid-Autumn Festival 2019. I like that Chinese Porcelain one a lot.Chinese Classic Stories, this being A “wall” that depicts the stories behind several classic Chinese virtues. (You know, the content would make for a great listicle on Chinese culture)The sprawling Martial Arts set-piece, one of the two huge dioramas at the Dragonfly Lake. When I visited, this was appropriately accompanied by an orchestral arrangement of James Wong’s A Laugh in Blue Sea (沧海一声笑).Water Colours. The other floating diorama at the Dragonfly Lake. This one has moving sampans. (If only rides are available!!)
Gardens by the Bay Mid-Autumn Festival 2019 is ongoing till Sep 15, 2019. Check the official webpage for details.
Geek, gamer, writer, movie lover, photographer, and occasional graphic artist. I like to consider myself a one-stop content creator of sorts. But the truth is, I obsess over too many hobbies.
