Chinese New Year street light-up · Singapore
Singapore Chinatown Horse Lantern Project, 2026
For the 2026 Chinese New Year street light-up, a paper-cut-inspired horse design became an 8.8-metre illuminated centrepiece, supported by 60 smaller horse lanterns, 48 auspicious fruit displays and floral scenes across Chinatown.
- Location
- Chinatown, Singapore
- Main feature
- 8.8-metre golden horse
- Supporting displays
- 60 horses and 48 fruits
- Factory scope
- Engineering, fabrication and installation guidance
The project in context
A city-scale lantern display built around one visual language
Chinatown’s 2026 design brought traditional Chinese paper-cutting into a contemporary streetscape. Temenggong Artists-In-Residence participated in the design, and public reporting identifies its arts planner Li Kailing as the designer of the paper-cut-inspired golden horse. The display was presented under the theme “Galloping into the Prosperous Year.”
Star Factory Lantern’s role was to translate the approved artwork into illuminated structures that could be fabricated, tested, packed and assembled. The work covered the main horse, the smaller horse lanterns, fruit and floral elements, electrical fitting, factory checks, export packing and installation guidance.
For the installation stage, the Singapore team worked from the component labels, wiring references, video and illustrated instructions prepared with the shipment.
From artwork to structure
Turning paper-cut lines into a three-dimensional lantern
A paper-cut design depends on silhouette, open space and decorative linework. On a large horse lantern, those flat marks have to follow the changing curves of the neck, chest, shoulders and legs without losing their visual rhythm.
The production team converted the pattern into wire divisions across the body. Coloured fabric was applied section by section, then spray colour was used where the transitions needed more depth. Daytime colour and night-time transmission were checked together so the pattern remained legible after the lights came on.
Engineering the centrepiece
A rearing horse needs visible energy and dependable support
The centrepiece lifts both front legs away from its main support area. That posture creates the sense of forward motion, but it also raises the centre of gravity and concentrates more of the structural work below the body and rear legs.
For this build, two main supports were formed with hot-dip-galvanised steel tube measuring approximately 20 centimetres in diameter. Their outer finish was matched to the horse so the structure remained visually quiet from the main viewing angles.
This dimension records the solution used for this project. Support sizes and anchoring for another display must be calculated around its form, site, exposure and installation conditions.
Surface work and lighting
The paper-cut effect was built into the lantern, not printed onto it
After the steel and wire form was completed, the decorative pattern was redrawn across the three-dimensional body. Separate fabric colours followed those divisions, with painted shading added where the surface needed more definition.
This approach took more handwork than applying one printed skin, but it allowed the motif to follow the sculpture itself. The pattern remains part of the form in daylight and gains a second layer of depth when the internal lights are switched on.
Managing a repeated streetscape
Sixty smaller horses without making the route feel repetitive
The smaller lanterns needed enough variation to keep a long street sequence lively, but 60 unrelated structures would have made fabrication and site matching needlessly difficult. The project therefore used a controlled family of horse forms rather than either extreme.
Eighteen numbered poses covered resting, running, raised-leg and turning forms. Colour combinations in red, yellow, green, blue and purple created further variation. Numbering gave the factory a consistent production reference and helped the local installation team match each unit to its planned position.
smaller horse lanterns distributed through the street display
numbered forms used to manage pose and production variation
main fabric colour families combined across the horse designs
Building the whole scene
Fruit and flowers changed the rhythm of the street display
The 48 auspicious fruit lanterns included peaches, persimmons, apples, pomegranates, oranges and Buddha’s hand fruit. They carried familiar Chinese New Year meanings, while their rounder shapes also interrupted the repeated horizontal movement of the horses.
Flower baskets, orchids and peonies created a lower foreground around the golden horse. That transition helped connect an 8.8-metre figure to the street instead of leaving the centrepiece visually detached from its base.
Prepared for local installation
Module planning began before the lanterns left the factory
The main horse was divided into seven principal modules: the head, body, four legs and tail. The purpose was not to create as many pieces as possible. It was to make packing and handling practical while limiting the number of connections that had to be completed on site. The smaller horses could be shipped as complete units.
Component tags identified where each section belonged, wiring labels paired the electrical connections, and the installation package included a video and illustrated presentation. Together, those references gave the local team a clear sequence for rebuilding and connecting the display.
The completed streetscape
Different lantern groups, one continuous visitor experience
Once installed, the individual products took on different jobs within the street scene:
- The golden horse created a landmark that could be recognised from a distance.
- The 60 smaller horses carried the theme along the route instead of concentrating it at one junction.
- Fruit and floral lanterns changed the height and silhouette of the sequence.
- Paper-cut patterns and related colour choices held the different scales together.
That coordination is what separates a city street light-up from a collection of stand-alone decorative pieces. Each lantern has to work on its own and as part of the larger route.
What Star Factory Lantern delivered
A production system for an approved cultural design
Star Factory Lantern developed the approved local creative concept into a practical system for production, packing and assembly at city scale.
Structural development
Translated the approved horse forms and paper-cut motifs into buildable steel and wire structures.
Lantern fabrication
Produced the main horse, smaller horses, fruit displays and floral scenes with internal lighting and finished surfaces.
Batch control
Used numbered horse forms, colour references and production checks to manage repeated elements consistently.
Packing and guidance
Prepared modules, labels, wiring references, video and illustrated instructions for shipment and local assembly.
Public event references
Further coverage of the 2026 Chinatown light-up
These reports provide public context for the design collaboration, display scale, event theme and street-lighting programme. The production details on this page come from Star Factory Lantern’s project records and workshop images.
Questions from project teams
City lantern project FAQ
Can a flat illustration be used to produce a large lantern?
Usually, but the artwork needs structural development first. The team must adapt the outline, internal support, surface divisions, lighting and principal viewing angles while preserving the character of the approved design.
How was the 8.8-metre rearing horse supported?
This project used two main supports below the body and rear legs, formed with hot-dip-galvanised steel tube of approximately 20 centimetres in diameter. Another design would require a project-specific structural and site review.
How did the 60 smaller horses avoid looking identical?
The production plan used 18 numbered poses, then varied the fabric colours and placement. This kept the street sequence lively while giving the factory and installation team a clear reference system.
What installation information travelled with the lanterns?
The shipment included component tags, wiring labels, a video and an illustrated presentation. The exact installation package for a new project depends on its size, complexity and local crew.
What should a city or festival team send before requesting a quotation?
Send the approved artwork or concept, intended dimensions and quantities, site photographs, a plan of the route, power information, opening date, display period, shipping destination and details of the local installation arrangements.