The Lunar New Year (LNY) long holiday just passed and Singapore saw more than a few celebrity tourists from Hong Kong and Taiwan, including Selena Lee, David Tao, Hsu Nai-lin, Christine Fan and her husband Blackie Chen.
David, 53, travelled here with his mother, wife and son. Sharing a family photo taken along the Singapore River, the Taiwanese singer-songwriter wrote in an Instagram post on Sunday (Jan 22): "Hope that everybody hops energetically in the rabbit year."
Veteran Taiwanese TV host Nai-lin, 63, was in town with his two sons: his eldest Xing-yang, who is joining Nai-lin in showbiz, as well as Ting-yong, who recently returned to Taiwan from Chicago after being overseas for two years.
According to Zaobao, Nai-lin revealed that his daughter needs to take care of her newborn baby and couldn't travel with them.
PHOTO: Instagram/Hsu Nai-lin
JJ Lin's mother even visited Nai-lin offstage at his performance on Wednesday, which he shared in a post today.
Taiwanese singer-songwriter Christine, 46, and her husband, TV host Blackie, 45, also brought their adorable twin sons here. Sharing photos of their time here at Sentosa and Jewel Changi Airport, Blackie wrote in his post: "Thank you Singapore for leaving us with beautiful memories."
Selena, 41, is no stranger to our island — she stayed here for a few months when she filmed the local English sitcom Spouse For House in 2014.
On Jan 24, the Hong Kong actress shared pictures of Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay on her Instagram Story. The following day, she uploaded another picture of a stage, seemingly taken during a rehearsal.
PHOTO: Instagram Story/Selena Lee
This was not her first time in Singapore since the easing of the travel restrictions. Last year, she shared a picture she took at Capella Singapore and wrote: "My first holiday in three years! Fourth time here, because this place feels like paradise. I haven't gone travelling for a few years… and everybody has chosen to come to Singapore in June 2022."
Other Taiwanese celebrities who were here included singers Chang Hsiu-ching, Long Qian-yu, Tsai Hsiao-hu and Fang Wen-lin.
Hsiu-ching, 52, was here for a performance and extended her stay for a few days for a holiday. Her husband accompanied her and the couple celebrated LNY overseas for the first time in their nine years of marriage.
PHOTO: HCM Music
It's her husband's first time here and she reportedly brought him to try several of our local dishes. According to Zaobao, Hsiu-ching said that they have been very busy lately, joking: "Our marriage has no substance, we are just friends who share a bed." She even admitted that she would make full use of this opportunity to "make a human being".
Veteran Hokkien pop singers Qian-yu, 61, and Hsiao-hu, 60, also stayed on in Singapore for a few days after performing here.
In a short video clip taken here and posted on her Instagram page today, Qian-yu said: "I am in a mall and drinking coffee. This is a precious opportunity — it's been a long time since I had so many free days to relax, having breakfast in the morning, then having afternoon tea or coffee, and shopping with friends.
Actually, the malls are all similar, it's just that in Taiwan the words are in Chinese, but in Singapore the words are in English."
Wen-lin, 57, was also among the latest visitors. She wrote on Facebook: "I am in Singapore escaping the winter. I haven't been out of the country for a few years. I treasure this rare opportunity."
She added that she had Hainanese chicken rice as soon as she alighted from the plane and also tried yusheng for the very first time.