Much of the lively celebrations and festivities Singapore holds to mark Chinese New Year – which is the first day of the Chinese lunar calendar and in 2017 is on Saturday 28 January – take place in and around the central city.
As a tourist at any given time of the year, it is likely you will want your hotel accommodation in Singapore to be centrally located and offer easy access to public transportation so you can readily get around. During the bustling and energetic period of Chinese New Year, this makes even more sense.
A hotel near Orchard Road – the city's famous shopping boulevard – will meet such requirements. And if it so happens that your taste in accommodation leans toward the chic and the lifestyle-oriented, then you are in luck with the likes of Hotel G Singapore being centrally located, on Middle Road.
This address puts the newest lifestyle hotel in Singapore (the trendy 308-room property soft-opened in November 2016) close to the shopping of Orchard Road and Bugis Street, key entertainment areas, conference facilities and various attractions as well as the Bugis and Dhoby Ghaut MRT stations.
Poised to quickly position itself among the leading boutique hotels in Singapore, Hotel G Singapore is part of the Hotels G lifestyle hotel brand of management company GCP Hospitality. GCP already has properties in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Pattaya, Yangon and San Francisco, which are to be followed by more openings slated for 2017 in Shenzhen, Macau, Yangon and Beijing.
Hotel G Singapore, like other Hotels G properties, is aimed at the savvy and design conscious traveller looking for a lifestyle-oriented accommodation experience, with guestrooms that are sophisticated, cozy and stylish, dining outlets that offer a cutting-edge flair and guest facilities that are world-class.
Guests staying at this Singapore lifestyle hotel will find themselves conveniently located for the Chinese New Year.
The Chinatown Chinese New Year Celebrations 2017 festivities program will run from 7 January through to 25 February, beginning with the official light-up and opening ceremony on the evening of Saturday the 7th.
Every night from 7 January to 25 February, Eu Tong Sen Street, New Bridge Road and South Bridge Road will be lit up in celebratory fashion incorporating traditional and modern elements; from 7 to 27 January nightly stage shows of culture, music and dance by local entertainers and troupes from China will entertain crowds at Kreta Ayer Square; 6 to 27 January will see the daily Festive Street Bazaar open in the evenings on Pagoda Street, Smith Street, Sago Street, Temple Street and Trengganu Street with stalls selling festive delicacies and other traditional goodies; and from 7 to 27 January the Chinatown Wishing Tree can be visited during the day and evening at Chinatown Point to make wishes and help the needy elderly through charity.
On 14 and 15 January the 10th International Lion Dance Competition will thrill evening spectators at the Banda Street carpark. Full of rhythmic drum beating and skillful stunts, this annual event attracts the participation of top troupes from Singapore and Asia Pacific.
Then, on Friday 27 January is the Chinatown Chinese New Year Countdown Party starting at 9.30 pm on New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen Street. Live performances and other festive fun will culminate with raucous firecrackers and dazzling fireworks to usher in the Year of the Rooster.
On the evening of 12 February is the Chingay 2017 Night Fiesta @ Chinatown also on New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen Street. Said to be Asia's largest street performance and float parade, this will treat the festive crowds with entertainment by local and overseas performers and beautifully decorated floats.
Another highlight event of Chinese New Year in Singapore is the River Hongbao celebration, which takes place at the nearby Marina Bay and along the Esplanade Waterfront Promenade from 26 January to 4 February. Sumptuous Chinese cuisine, opera performances and a sea of giant lanterns are all part of the festive Chinese cultural experience on offer to both locals and tourists alike.
Martin Wynn
