My fourth Mid-Autumn festive post for 2023 and it’s, of course, about the light-up and celebration over at Gardens by the Bay.
This was the Zhongqiu event that I looked forward to most this year. While I knew there wouldn’t be as many lantern displays as the one at Jurong Lake Gardens and there are also no street lights, what’s displayed at Gardens is always superbly crafted. In recent years, many displays also exuded a certain cosmopolitan flavour that was attractive to me.
I wasn’t disappointed! This year’s edition is one of the best ever too! It was absolutely magical strolling between the illuminated peach blossoms trees at the entrance. The mini gallery of Lanna lanterns leading to the Supertree Grove was also one of the most mesmerising attractions I’ve experienced this year, while the illuminated pavilion amidst the Supertrees looks like something right out of a Xianxia movie.
And then there’s the huge Magpie Bridge floating showpiece at the Dragonfly Lake. I’ve checked. The last time there was such a huge floating lantern was four years ago in 2019, i.e., before the pandemic.
It’s truly great, isn’t it? Yet another indication that we’ve put the worst behind us. One thing puzzled me, though. Why did Gardens by the Bay opt to feature the story of The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl (what Magpie Bridge is inspired by) for a Mid-Autumn event? That’s a classic Chinese folktale associated with the seventh month. Not the Mid-Autumn month of the eighth.
I suppose … it’s for the sake of variety—it can’t always be the myth of Chang’e year after year. Relationship with the Mid-Autumn Festival aside, Magpie Bridge is truly stunning to look at. It is beautiful and poignant at the same time. Under the moonlight, you can feel every bit of the tragic story that inspired this masterpiece.
Garden of Blooms – Welcoming Mid-Autumn Festival 2023 at Gardens by the Bay
Mid-Autumn Festival 2023 – Garden of Blooms ends on Oct 1. The displays are illuminated from 6 pm to 10 pm.
Other festive celebrations in Singapore.
