DESTINATIONS CHINESE NEW YEAR ASIA


LEFT: Shanghai


ABOVE: Singapore’s River Hongbao festival


TRAVEL TIPS


Be flexible


Chinese New Year is a busy time


for travelling – suggest heading out a few days early to avoid peak start and end dates.


Expect crowds Warn clients it will be very crowded, with some restaurants and shops closed during the holiday period.


Book early


Advise booking transport, accommodation and restaurants as early as


possible to secure availability.


character parades, while the nearby ‘water towns’ of Hangzhou, Suzhou and Zhujiajiao offer a more tranquil take on the celebrations. Book it: Links Travel & Tours can tailor a six-day package that visits Shanghai, Zhujiajiao and Hangzhou, starting at £1,245 per person, based on twin-share four-star B&B accommodation. linkstravelandtours.co.uk


 TAIWAN Just as lively when the clock strikes 12 is Taiwan, where booming firecrackers light up the sky – originally believed to ward off a legendary monster – and families gather to exchange red envelopes symbolising good fortune, while feasting on traditional dishes. The annual highlight is the Taiwan


Lantern Festival, a multi-day, carnival- style fiesta that takes place in different areas each year, with music, folk performances and a whole lot of colour. Next year, it’s in the county of Pingtung, from February 19 to March 3. Elsewhere, there’s the annual two-


day Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival in Tainan, where it’s considered lucky to be hit by fireworks, and the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival in Taipei, where thousands of lanterns are released into the sky in a dazzling display. Book it: Regent Holidays offers a 12-day Taiwan by Train & Kinmen Island tour from £2,265 per person, visiting Taipei, Pingxi, Kaohsiung and more by rail. regent-holidays.co.uk


50travelweekly.co.uk13 December 2018


 SINGAPORE Singapore knows how to put on a party and its Lunar New Year celebrations are no exception. At the heart of it all is the Chingay Parade: an all-singing, all-dancing convoy of floats, acrobats, drummers, stilt- walkers and other performers that takes place in Chinatown on the first weekend of the new year and lays claim to being the biggest float parade in Asia – think Singapore’s answer to Mardi Gras or Rio Carnival. Elsewhere, a lighting-up ceremony kicks off the whole shebang with fireworks, lion dances and more illuminating Chinatown Street, while


Best of the rest 2019 FESTIVALS


SONGKRAN, THAILAND April 13 to 15 For Thailand’s new year, locals take to the streets wielding water pistols, buckets and sponges. Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket and the islands are all hotspots for the celebrations.


TET, VIETNAM February 5 Fireworks, flower festivals, folk music and food make up Vietnam’s Lunar new


year celebrations in February, with the biggest events centred around Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.


COCHIN CARNIVAL, INDIA December 25 to January 1 Held in the last week of December, this colourful spectacle sees the town of Cochin in Kerala filled with lights, street parties, sports races and performances, culminating in a huge procession on New Year’s Day.


Marina Bay’s floating platform comes alive with the River Hongbao festival: a collection of performances, food, games and rides spread over a week. For those wanting to make the most


of the festivities, suggest staying at the Furama RiverFront Singapore, where specially themed menus and activities, such as balloon-sculpting and zodiac- reading, are on hand. Book it: Five nights in a deluxe room at the four-star Furama RiverFront costs from £739 per person (room- only) with Gold Medal, including Turkish Airlines flights from Gatwick on February 4, 2019. goldmedal.co.uk


PICTURES: ANDREW TAN; SHUTTERSTOCK


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