River Hongbao (RHB) is pressing on despite Covid-19 constraints.

This year's hybrid physical/ virtual event will take place at Gardens by the Bay, from Feb. 10 to 16, 2021.

Pre-registration required

To prevent crowding, visitors are required to pre-register by booking slots online before heading down.

Each daytime slot lasts 90 minutes, while night-time slots last 120 minutes.

There's also a cap of 2,000 visitors per time slot.

Registration opens from Feb. 3, 11am.

Note that there are corresponding booking times for the visiting dates:

No fireworks, live performances

A number of events will be absent from this year's line-up. These include fireworks, live performances, and student-led guided tours.

In place of the tours, pre-recorded videos of the students introducing the exhibition contents will be available on the RHB website.

Onsite visitors can access these by scanning a QR code at the exhibition.

Similarly, nightly screenings of pre-recorded performances at the main stage will replace the live function.

The last day of the event (Feb. 16) will see a pre-recorded “Joys of Springs” performance in a tie-up between RHB and Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese Media Group.

For physical displays, there's 24 giant lanterns featuring icons like a peacock, a pair of butterflies, the 12 zodiacs, and an 18-metre tall God of Fortune, scattered throughout the outdoor gardens.

Another exhibition highlights the Lion Dance tradition with a curation of lion dance artefacts from private collectors and organisations, some dating as far back as the 1950s.

Here's a map of the event layout:

Virtual activities

Lastly, elements of RHB, such as the Lion Dance exhibition, lantern displays, and pre-recorded performances, will also be posted online.

Other virtual elements — games and a TikTok contest — are available as well.

Safe management measures

The usual safe management measures apply at the physical event: SafeEntry check-ins, fever thermal screening, and the provision of hand sanitisers.

High-touch points will be cleaned several times a day.

Additionally, more than 100 volunteers, safe distancing ambassadors, and uniformed auxiliary police officers will be deployed to prevent crowding, and to ensure that visitors adhere to safe management measures.

The RHB organising committee added that it will continue to monitor the situation and adjust the programme as necessary.

Chairman of the River Hongbao 2021 Organising Committee Tan Aik Hock said that the organisers are "confident" that they have put in place "robust safety protocols."

"In deciding whether to proceed with RHB, the first question we asked ourselves was whether we can ensure the safety and wellbeing of all our visitors. It was also important that we did our level best to try and adjust to the new normal, while continuing the RHB tradition."

Top image via RHB 2021