PHOTO ESSAY | LUNAR NEW YEAR

A Nostalgic Trip Down Memory Lane at the Mall

Although I have only seen most of these items in old family photos

I don’t know the person in the picture, but his face is well hidden behind a persimmon — Photo by author

As many of you know, I practically live in shopping malls during the festive season. One of the malls I frequented was transformed into a charming 70s small town for the lunar new year.

The setup really took me down memory lane, as some of the items were so familiar from my growing-up years in a small town on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Not all of them though, as I wasn’t born yet in the 70s. But I I have definitely seen most of them in old family photos. On top of that, some parts of Malaysia are still stuck in the 70s even to this day.

My late grandfather’s living room looked exactly like this— Photo by author

This is a typical Chinese coffee shop called kopitiam which still exists in small towns— Photo by author

Metal gates. Very common in Malaysia — Photo by author

We had a clock just like one of those — Photo by author

My aunt used to have her CNY clothes made in a tailor shop just like this one — Photo by author

A food cart bicycle which is still a common sight today— Photo by author

Traditional grocery store. You can still find one of these in small towns— Photo by author

Traditional grocery store — Photo by author

Picture of me in a modern qipao/cheongsam (Chinese traditional dress). Mandarin collar left unbuttoned. It’s too tight and uncomfortable. The shadow of my fringe/bangs makes it look like I’m wearing a domino mask 😅

I shall end this post with a YouTube video of a lion dance performance. I love the acrobatic ones where they jump from pole to pole. I actually watched this performance live, but (luckily) I wasn’t captured in the video! If you don’t want to watch the whole thing, the action starts at 1:40. Trust me, you’d love it.

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Summarize

PHOTO ESSAY | LUNAR NEW YEAR

A Nostalgic Trip Down Memory Lane at the Mall

Although I have only seen most of these items in old family photos

Read or Die — Publication Rules

Updated January 2024 Guidelines