CNY 2024: Dahlia Dreams at Flower Dome, Gardens by the Bay

From 19 January to 17 March 2024, the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay will be ushering in the Year of the Dragon with their popular Chinese New Year floral display, Dahlia Dreams 2024.

Even though Dahlia Dreams has been the recurring theme for the past several years at Flower Dome, every year’s exhibition is different.

This year’s exhibition features:

7m-tall Dragon sculpture that stretches over 15m in length decorated in colourful flowers by hand
5.5m-tall Dragon sculpture made of hardwood and recycled steel
Four colourful dragon lantern sets, each symbolising the elements of metal, water, fire, and earth
Scene depicting “Carp Jumping over the Dragon Gate”
2,000 stunning dahlias and various popular Chinese New Year blooms

If you’re planning to visit, I recommend going early in the morning to avoid the crowd. The Flower Dome is open from 9am to 9pm daily. You can purchase the ticket online here.

Entrance: The Bearer of Infinite Blessings

As soon as you enter Flower Dome, you will be greeted with The Bearer of Infinite Blessings.

This 5.5m-tall dragon sculpture made out of hardwood and recycled steel, by British-born sculptor James Doran-Webb. It took him 9,000 hours of dedicated craftsmanship using over a ton of recycled stainless steel and hardwood from the Vitex parviflora tree at Flower Dome!

The dragon is holding the jewel of life in its arms to celebrate growth, progress and abundance.

CNY 2024 - Chinese New Year Gardens by the Bay - Dahlia Dreams at Flower Dome

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Flower Field

The centerstage of Flower Dome is none other than the flower field at the lower floor. Here, you can find the Majestic Dragon, four dragons representing four elements, carps leaping over the dragon gate, as well as thousands of dahlias and Chinese New Year blooms.

Carp Jumping over the Dragon Gate

In Chinese Mythology, there’s a mythical waterfall called the Dragon Gate in the Yellow River. Carps swimming upstream against strong currents transform into powerful dragons if they successfully leap over the Dragon Gate.

The saying “Carp jumping over the Dragon’s Gate” suggests that hard work and perseverance can help overcome obstacles and achieve greatness. The Chinese dragon is an auspicious symbol of great power.

Underwater

Next to the Dragon Gate, you can find various underwater elements, such as clams with pearls, colourful corals and marine lives set among various spring blooms.

Majestic Dragon

The Majestic Dragon sculpture of 7m-tall and 15m-length is the centerpiece in this year’s exhibition. It is brown in colour because 2024 is the Year of the Wood Dragon.

Part of the dragon’s scales are adorned with both cut and preserved flowers in striking yellow and red, which were painstakingly arranged by hand by Dementia Singapore and volunteers.

The body of the dragon forms a beautiful arch, which makes a great backdrop for photos.

Dragon Lanterns Symbolizing Metal, Water, Fire, and Earth

In the Chinese philosophy, Five Elements are believed to be the fundamental forces that affect everything in the universe, they are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.

While the Wood Dragon takes the centerstage in Dahlia Dream’s exhibition, the four colourful dragon lantern sets, each symbolising the elements of metal, water, fire, and earth, can be found around the wood dragon.

Lion and Dragon Dance

The dragon and lion dance are iconic part of Chinese culture and it’s especially prominent during Chinese New Year. The dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune, and keep the evil spirit away in the coming year.

During the dance, a small group of Chinese orchestra will be playing music with drums, cymbals and gongs. The dancers coordinate their movement to the music beats.

Dahlias and Various Chinese New Year Blooms

This year’s Dahlia Dreams features thousands of auspicious flowering plants, such as dahlias, celosias, chrysanthemums, cymbidiums, camellias, anthuriums, hydrangeas, peonies and mandarin oranges.