Hungry Ghost month closed on 11 September. Mid-Autumn in Chinatown is now a community lantern programme at Kreta Ayer, not a six-week light-up over New Bridge Road. Festival day is Friday 25 September. October brings the Nine Emperor Gods observances on the edge of the precinct.
Use this page as the seasonal index. Festival-specific guides live in the linked stories.
11 September to 4 October — community lanterns, not a street light-up
The Chinatown Festival Committee is not decorating Eu Tong Sen Street or New Bridge Road this year. Lantern booths and a growing display sit at Kreta Ayer Community Club, Kreta Ayer Square, and Banda Street from 11 September to 4 October. The headline night is Light a Lantern, Share Your Blessing at 6pm on 19 September: procession, mooncake and tea, riddles in four languages.
There is no People's Park Square festive fair and no Mass Lantern Walk on the dual carriageway. Older blogs that still list 18 September to 20 October, 7pm to midnight, are repeating 2025.
- Community programme: Mid-Autumn event page
- Why the street lanterns stopped: lantern guide
- 19 September daytime on Smith Street: Smith Street + Kreta Ayer
Now through 25 September — buy mooncakes
Sago Street still has two Tai Chong Kok bakeries. Thye Moh Chan at Chinatown Point #01-45 is 15 percent off gift sets until 14 September. Yue Hwa's Level 1 fair runs through 27 September. There is no street mooncake bazaar this year.
Full counters and prices: Where to buy mooncakes in Chinatown 2026.
Lantern photographs nearby — SCCC until 13 December
If you came for a large installation, walk to the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre roof garden at 1 Straits Boulevard. Bit Bit Forest (five inflatable rabbits) is free, 10am to 10pm, 11 September to 13 December. A family weekend, Mid-Autumn Family FUN, fills 19 and 20 September from 1pm to 9pm.
Bit Bit Forest walking notes from Chinatown · event listing
Stamp rally
The second-edition rally has wrapped. As of 12 September the Chinatown Festival Committee has not published a 2026 Mid-Autumn station list. Do not plan a trip around a layered postcard until that list exists. Format notes: Chinatown Stamp Rally 2026.
9 to 18 October — Nine Emperor Gods Festival
The nine-day Taoist festival of the ninth lunar month falls 9–18 October 2026. Processions, vegetarian abstinence, and send-off rites take place at temples around Chinatown and Chin Swee, including the Upper Cross Street area. Visitors may watch from the street. Dress modestly and keep clear of ritual processions.
Details: Nine Emperor Gods Festival 2026.
Year-round stops while you are here
- Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and the vegetarian food court next to it — temple + Lian Xin guide
- Self-guided walking trail covering Sri Mariamman Temple, Pagoda Street, Smith Street, and Telok Ayer
- Chinatown Heritage Centre, 48 Pagoda Street, 10am–8pm (last entry 7:15pm). Closed for maintenance on 15 September 2026. Current programmes: CHC what’s on
- Hawker food at Chinatown Complex and Maxwell Food Centre — food guide
How to get here
Ride the North East or Downtown Line to Chinatown MRT (NE4/DT19). Exit A faces New Bridge Road. There is no lantern corridor on that road this autumn. Maxwell (TE18), Telok Ayer (DT18), and Outram Park (EW16/NE3/TE17) are all within a 10-minute walk. Driving on the 19 September evening is slow; use the MRT. Getting here and parking.