Craftsmen are getting busy assembling cheery "chick" lanterns in Chinatown.

These lanterns will be featured in the street light-up there next month, as people usher in the Year of the Rooster.

About 40 craftsmen from China, including 40-year-old Madam Zhang Ying (right), have started making the lanterns, which will also feature hens, roosters and golden eggs.

The main centrepiece will be a 12m-tall rooster lantern at the junction of Eu Tong Sen Street and Upper Cross Street.

There will be at least 4,000 lanterns in total - the largest number of handcrafted lanterns for the street light-up to date.

The light-up is organised by the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng Citizens Consultative Committee and designed in collaboration with students from the Singapore University of Technology and Design.

The first day of Chinese New Year falls on Jan 28, and the lanterns will be lit up from Jan 7 to Feb 25.