I live on a street with a Chinese temple called Hong San See Temple

Its name means “Temple on Phoenix Hill” in Chinese, and it is dedicated to Guang Ze Zun Wang, the God of Fortune.  It sits on a hill which once had a view of the sea.  Today the temple is surrounded by high rise buildings and the sea is much further away because Singapore keeps reclaiming new land. 

Temple

I have walked by it many times over the last months, but because it has many steps, I have  not made it up to see inside. 

Several times over the last three weeks, there have been parades that begin and end at the temple.   I was fortunate enough to catch a few pictures of the parade.

I have not been able to find out anything about the parade.  Those who know are not able to speak enough English for me to understand. 

There were several dragons that twirled and danced down the street.  There were big kettle drums that drew me down to the street to enjoy the spectacle.  There were priests and cymbal bands.  There were even a few floats.

Probably the coolest images are the one of the tall puppet figures.  It was hard to imagine how they were carried.  At first, I thought the people inside were on stilts.  They were actually very small people who peeped out of a small hole in the giant’s belly.   

Wonderfully expressive figures

Behind the two figures, you can see a man freeing himself from his costume