Chinese New Year in Singapore is an annual affair like no other. Every year, we are treated to stunning light displays, and Chinatown truly lights up beautifully for the lunar festival. We can’t deny that we grew up looking forward to the different decorations and lights every year.

Besides going from house to house to call on our relatives and friends, there is actually so much you can do before or after the actual day, as the Lunar New Year spans across a total of 15 days.

Here, we have 5 Fun Things To Do This Chinese New Year 2016 in Singapore – time to jazz up the lunar new year!

1. CATCH THE LIGHTS AT CHINATOWN

To ring in the year of the monkey, Chinatown is all ready to stun with cute decor. Apart from your usual lights in reds and golds, Chinatown makes sure to entice every year with thematic displays. Of course, this means we are going to see lots of monkey figurines and wahtnot this year.

Where: New Bridge Road & Eu Tong Sen Street

2. EMBARK ON A CHINATOWN WALKING TRAIL

This complimentary trail is free for all and anyone can sign up. During Chinese New Year, you can experience the area in full swing as the bazaars come alive and the beautiful lights display comes on. Each trail is conducted in English only, and limited to 10 participants.

When: 23, 24, 30 & 31 January 2016
Time: 3.30pm – 5pm

3. ENJOY FESTIVE STREET BAZAARS

Visiting festive street bazaars is seriously one of our favourite things to do during the Chinese New Year period – not just to buy goodies, but to simply soak in the atmosphere. Enjoy great discounts on decorations, food and various snacks – but more than that, you can basically find anything you need for Chinese New Year at the bazaars.

When: 15 January – 07 February 2016
Time: 6pm – 10.30pm (Daily), 6pm – 1am (Chinese New Year’s Eve)
Where: Pagoda Street, Smith Street, Sago Street,Temple Street and Trengganu Street

Read: Chinatown’s Chinese New Year Market – Here’s what to expect.

4. CATCH THE 9TH INTERNATIONAL LION DANCE COMPETITION

Lion dance is an internationally recognised sport, and it is especially popular in Asia. Often associated with good luck and auspiciousness, Lion Dance is performed widely during Chinese New Year.

Hong Lim Park is where this year’s annual event will be hosted at, and you should make a trip down to enjoy the stunning performances on the two special days.

When: 23 & 24 January 2016
Time: 6pm – 11pm
Where: Hong Lim Park

5. WATCH NIGHTLY STAGE SHOWS

Kreta Ayer Square will host performances every night from 16 January to 07 Feb 2016. Get hyped for Chinese New Year and really put yourself in the spirit; these performances of vibrant Chinese cultural performances, festive songs, music and dance performances by local entertainers and troupes from China will sure liven the mood and get you all ready to celebrate the most anticipated Chinese festivity.

When: 16 January – 7 February 2016
Time: 8.00pm – 10.30pm
Where: Kreta Ayer Square