JB Chingay festival expected to draw 300,000 visitors, says association chief

JOHOR BARU: The much anticipated Chingay festival here is expected to draw some 300,000 local and international visitors, says Ho Sow Tong.

The Johor Baru Tiong Hua Association president said that many were eager to witness the festival as this was the first time it was held with fanfare since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country three years ago.

"We expect to see a crowd of at least 300,000 people coming to witness or take part at the peak of the festival tomorrow (Feb 11).

"Many are looking forward to the festival this year and since the main procession takes place on a Saturday, we believe we will see a large crowd," he told reporters when met near the Johor Ancient Temple here.

On Thursday (Feb 9), the four-day festival kicked off with a "street cleansing" ceremony.

At about 11am on Friday (Feb 10), deities of the five main dialect clans – Hokkien, Cantonese, Hainan, Hakka and Teochew – were brought out of the Johor Ancient Temple and placed temporarily at the Xing Gong temple at Jalan Ulu Air Molek before the main procession the following day.

A large crowd could be seen gathering along the roads near the Johor Ancient Temple up to the Xing Gong temple to witness the deities being brought to the Xing Gong temple.

The deities would be brought on a "tour" on Saturday (Feb 11) to bless the city and its people.

The century-old Chingay festival has been celebrated by the Chinese community in Johor Baru from the 19th to the 22nd day of the lunar new year (Feb 9 to 12 this year).

After being observed without fanfare since 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chingay festival is returning to its pre-pandemic scale this year.