First look at River Hongbao 2022: Giant tigers, flowers & 6-storey tall God of Fortune for maximum huat

The annual Chinese New Year festival will be held at Gardens by the Bay from Jan. 30 to Feb. 6.

Fiona Tan | January 30, 2022, 08:30 PM

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If you haven't already heard, the annual Chinese New Year festival River Hongbao is back.

This year's festival, which was launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong today (Jan. 30) promises to be bigger and better with more giant lantern installations.

Here's a look at what you can expect to see at the festival.

4m wider God of Fortune

Like the preceding years, guests can look forward to the 6-storey tall God of Fortune giant lantern centrepiece that measures 18m tall and wide.

This year, the God of Fortune is 4m wider than the previous year's, and it will be pouring gold coins out of a large money bag to symbolise a continuous flow of wealth and prosperity for the coming Year of the Tiger.

Image courtesy of Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations.

Besides this, guests will also get to enjoy four more giant lanterns in the 2022 edition of River Hongbao, which brings the total tally to 30 giant lanterns.

These include “Spring Fragrances”, a first-time-ever lantern set which will take the centrestage at the Gardens by the Bay’s annual Chinese New Year Dahlia Dreams floral display in the Flower Dome.

Image from Gardens by the Bay website.

The lantern set comprises three Chinese moon gates, a pair of rabbits and larger-than-life narcissus, peony and lily blooms, all set amidst about 2,000 dahlias and vibrant azaleas, chrysanthemums and cymbidiums.

Image from Gardens by the Bay website.

Other lanterns include the lantern arches at each of the three entrances to River Hongbao, an lantern titled “Rising After Challenges” with an interactive floor piano that guests can dance on, and the “Roaring Tigers and Dragon” installation which features a pair of tigers and a dragon rising from Dragonfly Lake.

Lantern archway. Image courtesy of Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations.

Rising After Challenges. Image courtesy of Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations.

Roaring Tigers and Dragon. Image courtesy of Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations.

Here's the full map showing the lanterns at River Hongbao 2022:

Image from RHB website.

Guests will have to abide by prevailing safe management measures, and there will be over 100 volunteers and safe distancing ambassadors deployed to manage or disperse crowds and prevent over-crowding.

S$180,000 in prizes to be won

Guests can stand to win cash prizes worth S$180,000 through the POSB #HuntYourZodiac mobile game from Jan. 30 to Feb. 15.

Players will have to register for an account using the number linked to their DBS PayLah! account.

Once done, all that's left to do is to hunt for the 60 zodiac animals scattered across more than 34,000 Gates of Fortune locations throughout Singapore, all whilst navigating the game's twists and challenges.

Those who capture the zodiac animals successfully will stand to win cash prizes which are worth up to S$888.

About River Hongbao 2022

River Hongbao 2022 will be held at Gardens by the Bay from Jan. 30 to Feb. 6.

Those keen to head down to the festival are required to register for time slots via the River Hongbao website.

Mothership understands that the registration period ran from Jan. 19 and closed on Jan. 22, but tickets were quickly snapped up as soon as registrations were open.

Guests who missed the registration window can still enjoy River Hongbao virtually through the website, where the event will be streamed live.

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Top image courtesy of Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations