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Teochew Festival 2016 in Singapore to promote Teochews' cultural heritage

Xinhua, December 9, 2016 Adjust font size:

Singapore's Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong on Friday officially opened Teochew Festival 2016, which promotes the rich culture and heritage of Teochews in the city state.

Organized by Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan, the 10-day festival features cultural gallery, exquisite craftsmanship, Teochew Feast, as well as cultural performances.

The festival returns with 45,000 square feet of exhibition space at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center, which is 1.5 times bigger than its inaugural event in 2014.

One of the highlights is the cultural gallery, which showcases artefacts of how early Teochew migrants communicated and corresponded with their families in China. Visitors can get a glimpse into the tough lives of early Teochew immigrants in Singapore through a display of Remittance Letters known as "Qiaopi".

In the early years, these overseas Teochews would send a portion of their income, no matter how meager, along with a letter to family members back home in China.

Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan has specially loaned some of these artefacts from the Museum of Overseas Chinese Remittance in China's Shantou. The curators also called for the public to send in Remittance Letters of their loved ones on display at this event.

At the Arts and Crafts Zone of the festival, visitors can appreciate Teochew crafts and watch live demonstrations by master craftsmen. Crafts on display include beautiful oil paper lanterns, golden silk embroidery works, exquisite wood carvings and delicate ceramic tea sets.

Foodies can be treated to an array of Teochew cuisines. There will be a food street featuring 20 vendors comprising homegrown Teochew eateries as well as food vendors from Shantou and Chaozhou, China. A variety of tantalizing Teochew specialties such as Bak Kut Teh, Crystal Dumplings, Fried Kway Teow and Fried Oyster Omelette will be served at the Festival.

There will be daily performances by award-winning performing groups such as Xiaomeihua Opera Troupe from China's Jieyang. Local arts group Nam Hwa Opera Limited will perform traditional Teochew operas, while AFinger, a hip hop group from Shantou, will perform traditional Teochew tunes with a modern twist of hip-hop and RAP music.

In addition, the organizer has developed its first mobile game app called "Heng Heng" which is specially created with the aim of engaging, entertaining and educating players about Teochew culture. Game players can learn about the origins of the familiar Teochew treats, as well as their accurate pronunciation in Teochew while having fun. Endit