SINGAPORE, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The annual Chingay Parade was held in Singapore Friday night to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The word "Chingay" is phonetically borrowed from the dialect in Hokkien or Fujian, China, meaning the art of costume and masquerade. It evolved from celebrations in the southern part of China during the Spring Festival and has been held in Singapore each year since 1973.

Chingay owns the reputation as one of Asia's largest street performance and float parade, a colourful epitome of the country's multi-cultural society.