Overview

Singapore's Chinatown evolved around 1821 when the first Chinese junk arrived from Xiamen, Fujian province in China. The passengers, all men, set up home around the south of the Singapore River which is known today as Telok Ayer. Chinatown’s local name - Niu Che Shui (Bullock Cart Water) arose from the fact each household at that time had to collect fresh water from the wells in Ann Siang Hill and Spring Street, using bullock-drawn carts. Bullock water cart

Not all parts of Chinatown are Chinese though. The Al Abrar Mosque along Telok Ayer Street, and the Jamae Mosque and Sri Mariamman Temple along South Bridge Road lay witness to the harmonious racial and religious atmosphere in Singapore. Chinatown can be divided into four main districts - Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Pasoh - each with its own distinctive flavour. The heart of activity is in the Trengganu/Smith Streets area.

But how did this idea for a Chinatown begin and develop?
When Raffles returned in 1822, he had plans for an orderly city segregated by ethnicity. This vision unfolded in the Jackson Plan of 1822 where four ethnic areas were designated for the different ethnic groups.

Jackson Town Plan

The plan was also shaped along economic lines as wealthy Asians were free to choose their residential areas; within their ethnic area or in the European Town.

The ethnic Chinese were allocated the area southwest of the Singapore River and Chinatown was born. The physical landscape was shaped from 1843 when authorities leased land for development. A product of this development is the introduction of "five foot ways"; a covered walkway with a depth of five feet to shelter pedestrians from rain or sun.

Within Chinatown, each dialect group occupied distinct areas and built social institutions such as clan associations to serve the collective needs of each dialect group.


Hokkien Street, Singapore Chinatown circa 1900

North Bridge Road, Singapore Chinatown

The very early Chinatown stretched inwards from Telok Ayer Basin. Telok Ayer Street was originally located very close to the sea and the Hokkiens community built the Thian Hock Keng Temple in 1840 for migrants to give thanks to the Sea Goddess, Mazu for a safe journey from China to Singapore.

Thian Hock Keng Temple, circa 1920

As the Hokkien population grew and the Hokkien clan association known as the Hokkien Huay Kuan was formed to address the needs of the migrant population.

The Hakkas built their Ying Fo Fui Kun, Clan Association further down the road while the Teochews built the Wak Hai Cheng Bio at the Philip Street. The Cantonese congregate around Smith Street, Temple street and Mosque street area.

In 1879 reclamation works along Telok Ayer pushed the sea line forward. By then, Chinatown had expanded with the rise in Chinese migrants.

Generally speaking, Chinatown covers Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Pasoh. Today, most of the original structures had disappeared and high rise buildings were built in their place.

The present Chinatown that is featured in tourist brochures and marketed as Chinatown is in fact the Cantonese section of a larger Singapore Chinatown.


Did you know: Although archways are common in other Chinatowns, Singapore Chinatown did not have an archway till one was built by the Singapore Tourism Board possibly to enhance the “Chinatown-ness” of Singapore Chinatown.

Though being a true born bred Singaporean Chinese, I’ve never really visited Chinatown even in festive occasions such as Chinese New Year. I always had this misconception that Chinatown was meant for the older generation and was definitely not a place for my generation or me. But this trip provided me with many new insights and proved me wrong.

There is a famous Chinese proverb which reads Yin Shui Shi Yuan, translated in literal meaning was “Remembering your roots”. This was totally apt to me. Perhaps due to the fact that my father was peranakan and indulge more in the peranakan culture and food, I was never really brought up as a traditional Chinese way like celebrating all kinds of Chinese festivals other than Chinese Lunar New Year, eating of dumplings and all kinds of traditional snacks and food and neither have I participated in any form of ancestral worship or been to the temple to pray for blessings for my family. Furthermore, I never speak Chinese at home as my dad, whose mother tongue was malay, could not speak a single word of Chinese. Thus, the Chinese culture and the area of Chinatown were much unknown to me.

When I learnt that we were going on a heritage trail, it brought back fond memories of the many excursion trips, which I had in primary school. Only difference is, this trip is to be self-organized and was somewhat like an amazing race. Before the trip, in preparation I googled ‘Chinatown’, and found many interesting facts and most of them answered the questions on the question sheet given. But yet, it was better to discover and go on a learning journey myself! We met in the late morning and started plotting our route. Starting from the Chinese Heritage Cemtre which was near Chinatown MRT station, we toured and walked around the place with much anticipation and excitement. The level of excitement and enthusiasm was high. At times, we were lost, not knowing where the street was, we had to ask bystanders or stall owners for information. It was embarrassing as we were both Singaporeans but yet we did not know our way around. I was just thinking and it saddens my heart that our “heritage” has been reduced to signboards, which we could not find almost half of the time during our mini adventure. This was one lesson learnt on how little I know about the area.

While I walked around the streets of Sago lane, Temple street, Smith Street, with all the hustle and bustle from the sales of goodies and potteries, I was taken back in time and could just imagined the streets some 40 years back, drawing parallel to the past, though it was the same place but yet the atmosphere and look of the street was different.

Also it is interesting to note that there were Indian temples like the Sri Mariamman, Malay mosque (Jamae Mosque), Chinese Church (Telok Ayer Chinese Methodist Church) and the Chinese temple (Thian Hock Keng Temple), having different places of worship in one area reminded me of the multi-religious and multi-racial society. This just showed that back in the past Chinatown was definitely not just a place for purely Chinese, but there were other races like Malay and Indians who probably were involved in their weekly rituals and worship, shows a great deal that there were different race living in harmony even in the past.

We finished our trail in about 4-5 hours and had a break at Ya Kun Kaya toast! Indeed it was a time of team bonding, laughter but what’s more we found and read so many interesting facts about the places in Chinatown that we know not of. This trail has really taught me the lesson not to be so myopic and it’s always good to know my heritage and roots and at least if a foreign tourist were to ask me for directions or how this street name was derived from, I would not be stumped and be able to answer it with ease.

All in all, though our legs ached from all the walking, it was truly an enriching experience!

When told that we have to visit Chinatown for heritage trail, I was not excited at all! Being Singaporean Chinese, I rarely visit Chinatown. Sometimes once a year during Chinese New Year, some years none. My perception of it is that it is always crowded and commercialized for tourists. Items found in the shops are highly marked up prices. After the trail, I have changed my perception of Chinatown and it has set me thinking about our current culture.

Places to visit
Our first stop was Chinatown Heritage Centre! I would recommend everyone anyone to go there. It was an eye opener for me, I never thought there is something this in Singapore. Inside, I saw the old Chinatown, and learnt about Chinese. My group mates and I had fun. We saw traditional method of fortune telling, performance arts, “clinic” and many other interesting things that one would not see anywhere else. Highly recommended place to visit!

Another must visit place would be Thian Hock Keng, its architectural design is amazing. The structure consists of only bricks and wood, no nails at all. The tour provided by the guide there is extremely informative about each God, helps me to understand the history of each God. As a Chinese, this is the first time I know about the different Gods and their background.

The markers found in Chinatown
Chinatown, a place filled with rich historical past, has now turned into a commercial place. ‘Markers’ are placed to supposedly attract tourists to have an on-site understanding of the Chinese way of life in Singapore. Yet, the sites are now replaced by commercial activities with little or hardly any artifacts left.

One would agree with me if I say the markers help one to understand the activities and historical background of the particular location/street. But then again, with the markers hidden behind shop extensions, for example, the marker “Red Lanterns and Private Chambers” at Smith street was hidden behind the mannequin for the tailor’s shop), what has happened to the importance of the markers, indirectly, importance of our past? Another example would be the marker at 37 Pagoda Street, “A Former Coolie House”. It address led us to a massage parlor! The marker was hidden behind a fashion’s shop extension. If our history is important, should more importance be placed on the location and placement of the markers?

The markers aid in one’s understanding of the street and its activities. But with the commercialization, I was unable to further relate with the information given on the markers. If artifacts are available, it will be better as it will probably allow tourists to have a deeper understanding of the street.

After the trail I have learnt more about the Chinese way of living and pieces of information I never thought they existed! For example, I never knew that there are performing arts groups situated in some of the shop houses at Trengganu Street. I always think the shops just sell Taiwan “muah-chee”, cheongsams and ridiculously expensive electronics.

In the Chinatown Heritage Centre, I saw the living conditions of the past. I am truly amazed at the toilets! There is only one hole, no flush no nothing! The rooms they used to live I are so tiny, worse still, one room has to squeeze several members of the family in. in our current society, two of that tiny bedrooms is the size of one person’s bedroom. We are so fortunate!

This led me to thinking that I am really fortunate to be living in the modern society of Singapore, no prostitutions, diseases, sufferings and poor living conditions. The heritage trail is definitely a good chance to show our current generation, future students how their life now is a form of luxury in the past and they should appreciate what they have.

For once, I felt that Chinatown was not crowded. I advise all tourists and people who want to explore Chinatown to avoid Chinese New Year period. It is a good place to bring students to for Singapore history lessons. Lastly, I will definitely visit Chinatown again and explore the place entirely.

My excitement that it was Chinatown!
I was actually hoping very much that I would get tasked to explore ‘Chinatown’, so in that sense it was a wish come true. Why would I have wished to do so? Because, I had ‘never been to Chinatown’! Well, I had been to a certain part of Chinatown, quite often in fact, but never the ‘heart’ of it, the ‘traditional’ parts of it; the sites with the histories… Well I mentioned that I had been to a certain part of Chinatown regularly. Before any ideas of where this place is runs astray, I would like to take a bit of space here to discuss what and where this place is. It is my Sunday morning-afternoon haven, the modern shopping mall; Chinatown Square. Why there? What’s there? Well… Toys… Collectible toys mostly. On Sundays, there would be the usual flea markets with the occasional unbelievable discounts… and I would leave with purchases that I now am trying to understand. With Chinatown Square a mere 5 minute walk from the MRT station, I never did explore the rest of Chinatown. As such, my understandings of Chinatown had been narrow. I am an Indian-Muslim. I have been to the Little India and Geylang Serai areas many times… but not Chinatown. For a long time, I have and still believe that, before I should go exploring other countries, I should first understand mine. Here was the exciting opportunity to expand my understandings!

The first stop: The Chinatown Heritage Museum
The day began with lots of promises for me. I had my bottled water and sunglasses and was all set. Our first stop: The Chinatown Heritage Centre. This was both an eye opener and a bit of nostalgia. This Heritage centre, is three storeys tall. It’s like a museum but much smaller than the other more popular one in Singapore (e.g the Singapore National Museum, Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore Art Museum) but it is concise. The space is to me, perfectly used. There were small scale models of prominent buildings in Chinatown such as the Imperial theatre (which still stands at the same place), life sized replicas of coffee-shops, marketplaces and the insides of shop-houses. They were not only sights, but also sounds and smells! Everything was re-created with great detail. This is to me, by far the best replicas I have seen. I remember reading about the descriptive accounts in my secondary school textbooks years back but, this was a good example of bringing that history to life. I told my fiancée about this that same night and convinced her to visit the museum with me during the upcoming school holidays.

The shopping area
Next, we were looking for the streets we were assigned. We got out of the safe, air-conditioned museum and it was Chinatown; sights, sounds, smells and bustle. With Chinese New Year a month away, street side vendors were busy peddling their goods; the clothes, foods and Chinese New Year decorations. It was exciting! The shophouses retained an old charm but had been refurbished for a modern cleanliness and audience. This was the main shopping area. Alive and bustling on a weekday afternoon.

The ‘outskirts’?
Then we ventured further out, to places such as the Maxwell food centre, the mosques and temples and An Siang Hill. That was my first time to all these places! Maxwell food centre included… This would also be the first time I entered a Chinese temple. Thankfully, my group mates could provide me with a brief tour of the insides. It was most exciting and enlightening.

Conclusion
Certainly I would re-visit Chinatown. It seems less daunting now. It could be a very good place to explore with friends. It would also be a good place to bring my students in the future. It has been a most rewarding experience for me. But I do imagine that I would learn more things the next time I visit because this time around, I was too caught up in the details. Perhaps I would re-visit to get a more ‘overall’ kind of idea of Singapore’s Chinatown.

The last time I visited Chinatown was when I was in Primary 3 or 4 for the Heritage Tour. I think the reason for that was because there was nothing much that attracted me to Chinatown. Perhaps it was due to the fasting month, and we had to do the heritage tour thingy and answer several questions under the HOT sun with the boring teachers controlling our every move. To make it worse, I was in the afternoon session and that means when the tour was over, I still needed to return to school and continue classes as normal!! I think that really, really, bad experience was the reason why!!

Anyway, I never thought of Chinatown as a shopping paradise like what most people always said. To me shopping paradise is more like VIVO!! Hahaha! Chinatown and Little India to me is like the Chinese and Indian version of Geylang and hence it definitely does not appeal to me. I see Geylang as merely a wet market that I refuse to go to every weekend with my parents.

When my group got Chinatown as our trail destination, it reminded me vividly of the boring excursion I had when I was in primary school. However, I felt that this time round, it is definitely going to be different as there will be no teachers accompanying and instead will be with my group of friends, and most importantly, it is not the fasting month. It sort of cheered me up a little as there will definitely be more freedom and perhaps it will be more thrilling than I expect.

I woke up early for the trip. I reached Chinatown MRT station around 45 minutes early. I waited at the MRT station for the rest to appear. Slowly, one by one of my group members emerged. In the beginning we decided to immediately begin with the trail. However, we changed our mind by deciding to have lunch first at Mc Donalds in an attempt to not waste any more time during the trail. Obviously, that didn’t happen. We had more breaks than we intended to, thanks to the plenty of food outlets and snacks shop around Chinatown. After our lunch, we headed to the Chinatown Heritage Centre.

We were in the beginning trying to be as efficient as ever, trying to jot down notes and answering the questions when we reach the museum as there were more information on the iconic places in Chinatown. However, the whole interior set up of the place really amazed me. I love the deco as well as the nostalgic feeling of the setting. I was busy smuggling my camera and taking as many pictures as possible. Most of the items/interior setting found there such as the replica of the rooms in the olden days, the sort of toilets people used, the sewing machines could hardly be found in any other place in Singapore other than in books or photographs. I was in fact imagining how on earth people could actually fit in the room as it was not even for only one person but in fact for a family for seven!! I was just in disbelief but really appreciate the sort of environment we are living in right now. The old traditional Chinese music as well as the burning of the incense really brought the olden days to live and at times it really feels eerie. After taking tons of pictures, and looking out for one another (in case the people working in the museum catch us taking pictures), we hid all our cameras in the bag, and innocently left the museum to head for our next stop.

Looking for places and roads really made me feel like as though I was a tourist. It was fun though. It was like the Amazing Race, without the million dollars! We helped one another to look out for the signs to look for the places and roads. We did not separate to complete the tasks and stick as a group. We had such great team spirit. HAHAHA! It was most evident when one of us spotted Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book at some store. One person decided to buy the book and we later asked the uncle to give us 5 copies and bought a copy each as it was only $5. We also asked the uncle and his wife to take for us several pictures with different cameras posing with the book. They were kind enough to allow us to take the picture in their shop.

The most fascinating part for me in the whole trip is definitely the artistic elements found in the places of worship. I was so attracted to the interior deco of the Thian Hock Keng temple, that I took numerous pictures of it. I love the contrasting colours of the red lanterns and the gold trimmings of the ceiling. I was also impressed by the intricate carvings of the dragon on the columns of the temple. I am also fascinated by the paintings on the ceiling of the Sri Mariamman temple. It reminded me of the pictures of churches in Italy having religious murals on the walls. The Jamae and Al-Abrar mosques made me attracted to its simplicity. Instead of the usual mosque architecture with a dome structure, the buildings are built to blend into the buildings surrounding it. The Jamae mosque is like a mixture of all cultures compressed into one. The building has Chinese traces with the two pagoda-like structures erected. It is being built by the Chulia community from India. And it is a prayer house for the Muslims.

In all, my recent trip has indeed displaced my childhood negativity towards Chinatown. As an adult, I have been impressed by this trip as I noticed much more in this quaint area of Singapore. Its history, arts and architectural details are elements that we witnessed there which has given me a new appreciation of Chinatown. Accompanied by my crazy group of friends, it made the trip all the more fun and memorable.