Chinatown – Singapore

        On our honeymoon last January 2013, we bought cheap flight tickets to Vietnam. The good news was the tickets were not direct ones but had transfers in Kuala Lumpur. Although we had four days before we flew to Vietnam, we chose to spend the most days in Singapore for we thought it was more fun in Singapore than Kuala Lumpur. We were right. I personally have visited Singapore in 2003 but I almost forgot how the country looked like. I was curious to know the present Singapore so I decided to visit it again. We departed from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore by train. As soon as we arrived in Singapore, we headed to Chinatown to find the cheapest lodging where we would stay for the next two nights. Chinatown is famous for its cheap lodgings, foods and stuffs!!! Since we had not booked any inn, we totally had no idea where we would stay. Praise the Lord, God brought us to meet two grandfather and grandmother who escorted us to their lodging. There was still an empty room so we just checked in. The room was very clean and comfortable.

        As its name suggests, Chinatown is a town of Chinese people, the ethnic that dominates Singapore. It features Chinese culture and history. Before its present name, the British named it Tang Ren Jie, a term that is used today by the non-Chinese Singaporeans. On the contrary, the Chinese Singaporeans call it Niu Che Shui (牛车水) as the term Tang Ren Jiu refers to Chinese regions where Chinese people are the minority ethnic group. Another reason behind the present name is the location of the Chinatown that required animal-driven carts to transport water supply to and from Chinatown in the 19th century.

This is the MRT station of Chinatown. There are many Chinese people here

Out of my expectation, the literal meaning of the Chinese name of the station does not match with the English name. It made me wonder at that time, but now I understand why the Chinese name is Niu Che Shui. The official name of Singapore Chinatown is Niu Che Shui or “Ox-cart water”.

        In general, Chinatown consists of Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar and Bukit Pasoh. Originally it was the British General Raffles who initiated the establishment of the Singapore city based on ethnicity. Then Chinatown was selected as the resident area for ethnic Chinese. Since the Singapore’s founding in 1819, the area became overcrowded until many residents were relocated to the governmental housing in 1960. Singapore Chinatown flourished along with the development of the country. In 1950s, the area started as a shopping area where sellers built their stalls and sold various goods, which then developed into a night market. A typical Chinese night market with the noise, crowd, various goods and food stalls attracted tourists’ attention and increased the area’s popularity. Unfortunately, the government stopped the night market and moved it to a high rise complex.

The street in Chinatown. Look at the red paper dragon in the middle of the main street. It is one of the interesting ways of how the Chinese welcome the Chinese new year.

The architecture of shophouses in Chinatown resemble the elements of baroque and Victorian architecture. Today, most of the original structure of the buildings have been replaced with skyscrapers and other modern buildings.

Despite the fact that Singapore is identical with Chinese Hokkian, the majority Chinese group that populates the area now is the Cantonese since the Hokkian and the Tio Ciu have largely moved to other parts of the country.

This is the shopping center in Chinatown. Here you can find ranges of goods and stuffs which are mostly made by the Chinese. The prices here are quite cheap compared to other parts in Singapore. Different from the common Chinese shopping streets, the one in Singapore is more organized and clean. Because of the too modernized version of the Chinatown Singapore, some tourists think that the area is too clean and too touristy that it does not resemble the true Chinatown like in other areas.

The shophouses in Chinatown’s shopping street. The architecture of the building and the lampion decorations are typical Chinese.

Look at how the shop clerks dress. They look like the Kungfu players in Chinese movies.

        Although Chinatown is the exclusive area of ethnic Chinese, they live harmoniously with the Indians and the Muslims. Besides the Chinese temples and monasteries, you can also find Indian temples, mosques and churches there. This provides a good example of how people from different ethnic groups can live side by side. Indonesian people must learn this from the Singaporeans.

Sources:

Personal experience and additional information from other online articles