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Thousands of lanterns light up Singkawang for Chinese New Year
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The chairman of the Chinese New Year and Cap Go Meh celebration event, Tjhai Leonardi, said 10,000 lanterns would be installed in Singkawang. (JP/Severianus Endi)
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n anticipation of the Chinese New Year and Cap Go Meh 2018, thousands of lanterns have decorated the city of Singkawang, West Kalimantan.
The chairman of the Chinese New Year and Cap Go Meh celebration event, Tjhai Leonardi, said 10,000 lanterns would be installed in Singkawang.
“We have started decorating the city of Singkawang with lanterns,” he said to Antara, Sunday.
He confirmed that this year, there would be new decor and events, such as the Cap Go Meh gate that will be installed near the BNI crossroads, and other ornaments along the protocol roads.
Read also: Tatung to enliven Cap Go Meh celebration in Sambas
“On the protocol roads, such as Pangeran Diponegoro Avenue, there will be ornaments of the 12 shiau (Chinese zodiac signs) with an artistic lantern with a height of 2.5 to 3 meters, which will light up at night,” Tjhai said.
Other than the ornaments, this year’s Chinese New Year and Cap Go Meh celebration will also feature a parade of kilin, the highest sky animal, above the liong (lion).
“There will also be replicas of the 9 liong by our friends from the St. Yosep Singkawang Group,” he added.
The celebration will also be joined by a number of tatung (the Hakka Chinese word for a person who is possessed by gods or by the spirits of ancestors). “We will organize these tatung so they are pleasant to watch,” added Tjhai.
Singkawang Mayor Tjhai Chui Mie said his meeting with the Tourism Ministry revealed that the government supported the activity and would promote the event nationally and internationally. (asw)
