Viet Nam’s unique culture was showcased at Chingay Parade, the largest street performance and float parade in Asia, as an art delegation from the Ho Chi Minh City Light Music Centre participated in the event in Singapore from February 23-24.
About 6,500 performers take part in this year’s Chingay parade, the 46th of its kind
In addition to advertising Ao Dai (Vietnamese traditional long dress), artists also presented the unique qualities of cultural and art renditions imbued with Vietnamese identities to millions of Chingay participants and spectators through graceful traditional dances.
According to Mai Ba Hung, Deputy Director of the HCM City Department of Culture and Sports, this is the third time that Viet Nam has made an appearance in the Chingay Parade, but was a debut occasion for HCM City.
Coming to the festival, Viet Nam wishes to promote cultural exchanges with Singaporean friends as well as with international artists from around the world, taking the opportunity to learn from their experiences in order to research the organisation of large-scale street festivals at appropriate moments in HCM City, he said.
Chingay is a unique Singaporean Lunar New Year tradition, held during the first weekend of the Lunar New Year. Since its inception in 1973, the festival has now become one of the largest and most indispensable events in the cultural and spiritual life of Singaporean people.
About 6,500 performers took part in this year’s Chingay parade, the 46th of its kind. The 2018 event left strong impressions on attendees with featured performances from cultural inserts of Singapore and countries around the world, including vibrant floats, dancing dragons, prancing lions, stilt walkers, circus and magic, performers of different races in their traditional costumes, and many more.