Regarded as the cultural root of Singapore, Chinatown was a thriving centre of small businesses like goldsmiths, textile shops and pawnshops.
At night, the streets would come alive with night markets, thieves’ markets, Chinese theatres and less reputable activities. Interestingly, Chinatown was not exclusively Chinese as evidenced by the presence of Jamae Mosque and Sri Mariamman Temple along South Bridge Road. In the face of soaring skyscrapers and shining shopping malls, Chinatown may have lost its glorious lustre somewhat. Fortunately, remnants of its colourful past still stand, echoing pangs of nostalgia. Let’s take a peek into the interesting areas of Chinatown.
In the beginning ...
In 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles established a trading post in Singapore for the East India Company.Due to its strategic location and status as a free port, Singapore soon saw a huge influx of immigrants seeking their fortunes.
Chinatown was known as ‘Chinese Campong’ when it was first designated by the Town Planning Committee which was formed by Raffles in 1822 to mark out the various quarters for the different races. Many immigrants made humble living as port labourers or hawkers selling anything from clogs to tasty snacks.
At that time, fresh water could only be collected from a well at Spring Street. Water was collected by each household using bullock-drawn carts, hence the origin of Chinatown’s local name, ‘Niu Che Shui’, or ‘Bullock Cart Water’.
Telok Ayer Street
Telok Ayer Street is one of the oldest streets in Chinatown and it has been a busy thoroughfare linking the new Keppel Harbour with the commercial activities on the banks of Singapore River. It was a place for social gathering due to the presence of commercial and religious buildings and clan associations within its vicinity.
This street is also home to Thian Hock Keng Temple, the oldest and most important Hokkien temple in Singapore. Newly arrived immigrants erected the temple to thank the Goddess of the Sea for their safe voyage, and to ask for continued fortune in their new homeland. Interestingly, this temple was built without using nails, not even in the pagoda-shaped roofs. It was, instead, erected based on principles of mortise construction and the iron-wood posts it stood on were imported from China along with all other materials required for its construction. This temple was gazetted as a national monument in 1973.
South Bridge Road
Electric trams started operations in 1905 and South Bridge Road was one of the five routes along which the trams operated. However, it ceased operations in 1927 and trolley buses were introduced in 1929. Though this was predominantly a Chinese area, there were small communities of Indians trading in meats and spices around the junction of South Bridge Road and Upper Cross Street.
The various communities built permanent places of worship such as Jamae Mosque and Hindu Sri Mariamman Temple. The Jamae Mosque, also known as Chulia Mosque, was established by Chulia Indians, a term for Tamil Muslim immigrants who are mostly traders and money-changers. The mosque was also gazetted as a national monument in 1974.
Sago Lane
Named after the numerous ‘sago’ (a glutinous, tropical crop used in puddings) factories that used to operate there, Sago Lane was infamous for housing several ‘death-houses’. These ‘death-houses’ contain rooms and dormitories that were hired by the old and dying to live out their last days.
They also contained parlours where the dead lie before the funeral so that relatives and friends can pay their last respects. Nearby shops provide a supporting role to this morbid industry by selling funeral clothes, appliances, paper models of automobile and houses. These paper effigies were burnt with the deceased’s personal clothing to ensure that they would be well taken care of in the netherworld.
Upper Chin Chew Street
One of the most dilapidated areas in the whole of Chinatown, this was home to many female labourers from Sam Sui District of Guangdong Province, hence the street’s nickname ‘Black Cloth Street’.
These women were well-known for their heavy manual work on construction sites. They wore distinctive red headgear and blue work clothes.
Regarded as the cultural root of Singapore, Chinatown was a thriving centre of small businesses like goldsmiths, textile shops and pawnshops. 
Chinatown was known as ‘Chinese Campong’ when it was first designated by the Town Planning Committee which was formed by Raffles in 1822 to mark out the various quarters for the different races. Many immigrants made humble living as port labourers or hawkers selling anything from clogs to tasty snacks. 
