Sungai Ruan

Sungai Ruan one of the small and new village Raub district of Pahang, Malaysia which is surrounded by isolated forest and oil palm plantations. Sungai Ruan located about 13 km from Raub town. Most of the resident here are rubber tappers and farmers, a predominantly Chinese new village with plantations as their main source of income. The ethnic composition is roughly 15% Malay and Bumiputra, 65% Chinese, 5% Indians and 15% non-citizens.

The majority of the community are farmers that own fruit orchards. This series shall be mainly of Malaysia fruits. During the durian peak season, workers were busy carrying rattan buckets full of durians especially the Musang King variety (the most popular variety for every year).

During the Chinese New Year, lion dancer troupes from the Chinese martial art schools or Chinese guild and associations will visit the houses and shops of the Chinese community to perform the traditional custom of "cai ching" (採青), literally means "plucking the greens", a quest by the 'lion' to pluck the auspicious green normally 'vegetables' like lettuce which in Chinese is called 'cái'(菜)that sound like 'cái'(财)(fortune) and auspicious fruit like oranges tied to a "Red Envelope" containing money; either hang highly or just put on a table in front of the premises.

The "lion" will dance and approach the "green" and "red evelope" like a curious cat, to "eat the green" and "spit" it out leave it in a nice arrangement, like an auspicious character but keep the "red envelope". The lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to the business and the troupe is rewarded with the "red envelope".