Online CNY bazaar among offerings on Zaobao microsite
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Those who miss the familiar bustle of the traditional Chinese New Year bazaar can still get a taste of festivities at a newly launched microsite.
To welcome the Year of the Tiger, Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao has set up virtual stalls at its online bazaar - bit.ly/zbsg_cny2022 - where readers can get recipes for familiar Chinese New Year dishes, fortune predictions and heartfelt greetings from local and regional celebrities.
While large-scale Chinese New Year bazaars are not allowed, given the current Covid-19 restrictions, readers can still get in the festive mood with live-streamed shows.
Readers can download original Year of the Tiger stickers via:
•Telegram: bit.ly/telegramcny2022
•WhatsApp: bit.ly/whatstickercny2022
•WeChat bit.ly/wechatcny2022
Among the highlights of the microsite are Chinese New Year articles and tips, and live programmes that feature the unboxing of festive goods, fortune predictions for the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, cooking shows with guest chefs on whipping up festive delicacies, and a concert.
Ms Han Yong May, executive editor of Lianhe Zaobao, said: "The bustling CNY bazaar has always been a highlight during the CNY festive period in Singapore. Due to the pandemic, there has been no CNY bazaar in Chinatown for the past two years, to the disappointment of many.
"Therefore, we adopted this theme when we designed the CNY interactive page, hoping that our readers can also enjoy the lively festive atmosphere online."
With auspicious cheering still disallowed while tossing yusheng (raw fish), Lianhe Zaobao has also created an online tool dubbed the "2-in-1 Lohei Butler" so that readers can tap either a video guide or sound menu to facilitate their cheering.
Readers can access the tool here: bit.ly/cny2022lohei
Free premium content will also be made accessible to all readers, including non-subscribers, on zaobao.sg from Jan 31 to Feb 3.