As gongs and drums sounded through the square, a golden-haired "lion" more than two meters high jumped and danced with glee. Crowds of people picked up their mobile phones to record the scene and gave the performers a round of applause.

This was the lion dance held in the monument area of George, capital of Penang state in Malaysia, on the evening of Jan 28. On the same day, the Penang Temple Fair was held.

In addition to the lion dance, there were also dragon dances, Hakka songs, diabolo performances and magic shows at the fair. Players of the guzheng, flute, erhu and other musical instruments also attracted a large number of locals to come and watch, and children who visited the temple fair took part in traditional folk customs such as paper-cutting and noodle-making.

According to Cao Guanyou, chief minister of Penang State, the first Penang Temple Fair started in 1999, and even though the previous two years were affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the fair was still successfully held online.

Penang is a place with a high proportion of ethnic Chinese. As early as the Qing Dynasty, Chinese migrants arrived in Penang and made important contributions to the economic and social development of the region. Now, these ethnic Chinese still celebrate traditional festivals such as Chinese New Year to strengthen their bonds with one another.