S’porean professor beats Chinese New Year travel rush to return from China for reunion dinner
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Though Dr Samuel Gan, a research professor of biology at Wenzhou-Kean University, is based in China, he makes it a point to visit his family and friends in Singapore whenever he can.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Poh Yijian
- Dr Samuel Gan travelled over 5,000km from China for Chinese New Year, emphasising family as irreplaceable. He navigated the huge 'Chunyun' rush to reunite with his retired parents.
- Foreigners in Singapore like Mrs Nicole Rajkumar are adopting Chinese New Year customs, experiencing 'lo hei' and touring Chinatown to learn traditions from guides like Ms Diana Chua.
- Expat Living celebrates Chinese New Year with a 23-year-old 'reunion lunch' and 'lo hei' involving diverse nationalities, highlighting Singapore's unique festive traditions, which are new to some.
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SINGAPORE – For the average Singaporean, the reunion dinner may be just a short commute away.
But for Dr Samuel Gan, his journey home began more than 5,000km away in Wenzhou, in south-eastern China, two months ago.
“I usually come back earlier. Otherwise, it is very difficult to get transport during the Chinese New Year in mainland China,” said the 44-year-old research professor of biology at Wenzhou-Kean University.
The Chinese New Year travel rush, or “chunyun” in Chinese, has been described as the world’s biggest annual migration.
Officials in China expect hundreds of millions of people to make a record 9.5 billion domestic trips during the 40-day period, up from about 9.02 billion in 2025.
Dr Gan has been at Wenzhou-Kean University since August 2022, and was previously with A*STAR.
He returned from China in late December 2025 and has been travelling to nearby countries for work.
His schedule has him overseas most of the year, but he makes it a point to visit his family and friends in Singapore as often as possible.
“Work and dreams can be replicated anywhere else... but so long as my family and friends are here, I will always come back to see them, because of all things, family cannot be replicated,” he said, adding that his last trip to Singapore was in October 2025.
Dr Gan, who is an only child, said his parents are both retired and in their mid to late 70s. For them, celebrating Chinese New Year together is an important tradition.
“It is good to set a time to remember and appreciate one another as a family,” said Mrs Gan, his mother.
As for the reunion dinner spread, Dr Gan and his parents like to keep things simple. The dinners usually feature a mix of takeaway dishes and home-cooked specials, including air-fried roast chicken and a mini yusheng platter.
For foreigners calling Singapore home, Chinese New Year has become an invitation to create new connections and strengthen old ones.
Mrs Nicole Rajkumar, a 59-year-old teacher from New York City, spent her first Chinese New Year with her “chosen family” – a group of women from the American Women’s Association (AWA), a social club with members from more than 40 different countries.
The expat, who has been in Singapore for only nine months, had her first lo hei experience on Feb 13, during a lunch event held by the AWA.
Mrs Nicole Rajkumar spent her first Chinese New Year with her “chosen family” – a group of women from the American Women’s Association.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
“It was messy, but fun,” Mrs Rajkumar recalled.
Led by Ms Diana Chua, a freelance heritage guide in her 60s, the group also toured Chinatown to learn more about the origins, customs and enduring community traditions that defined Chinese New Year celebrations for the early Chinese settlers.
American Women's Association members tossing yusheng at a restaurant during a guided heritage tour of Chinatown on Feb 13.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Ms Chua, who was born in Singapore and has witnessed first-hand the transformations of Chinatown over the decades, finds meaning in sharing cultural experiences with both locals and foreign guests.
“Sharing the celebrations with others makes the festive spirit even more alive for me,” she said.
Though Mrs Coreen Knox, a retired engineer from Texas, has been living in Singapore for 10 years, she still managed to learn something new.
The 51-year-old said: “I found it interesting to hear about the superstitions and what you should not do on the first day of Chinese New Year. A new superstition I heard on the tour was not to use scissors or knives.”
Ms Diana Chua (left) with members from the American Women's Association at Chinatown Complex during a guided heritage tour on Feb 13.
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
While some groups are still learning the traditions, others have moved to adopt them fully.
At Expat Living, a “reunion lunch” and the accompanying lo hei toss have become non-negotiable rituals.
Dating back to the magazine’s early days, the tradition has continued unbroken for 23 years. Every Chinese New Year, the team gathers for a communal meal, donning auspicious red or bright colours to mark the occasion.
This year’s group of 10 included a wide variety of nationalities – British, German, Hungarian, Danish and Chinese – joining their five Singaporean colleagues at the table.
The Expat Living team has been celebrating Chinese New Year together for 23 years.
PHOTO: FAIRMONT SINGAPORE
Among the locals was Mrs Siti Khirudeen, who has not missed a celebration since the tradition started. “The mix of nationalities makes the lo hei experience so much more fun,” she said.
Mrs Cherry Lai, the newcomer among them, noted that there were interesting differences between the celebratory practices in Singapore and her home city of Hong Kong.
“The biggest difference is that we actually don’t have lo hei in Hong Kong! I’d never heard of it until moving here,” the 37-year-old editor exclaimed.
“It’s such a fun Chinese New Year tradition – I like that the messier it gets, the better.”
