- Location: between Anson Road and New Bridge Road
- Website: www.chinatown.sg
Singapore - the country of color and the fusion of many cultures and nationalities, in it you will find European, Indian, Asian and Chinese features. If you want to get acquainted with the Chinese heritage, we suggest you go on a walking tour to the Chinese quarter in Singapore (Chinatown).
Approximately 150-170 years ago it was the most barren area of the island. A lot of opium dens, public and gambling houses were under the control of various clans of the mafia. Initially, the quarter consisted of several thousand people, and today it is one of the prosperous areas.
Chinatown
Chinatown Singapore occupies one of the central areas of the city, entirely consists of two-, three-story houses - shophauses - and stands out very much against the background of neighboring skyscrapers. It originated in the time of the founder of Singapore, Stamford Raffles, who each nationality allocated a separate place for settlement in order to avoid any ethnic clashes. For two centuries of the island's history, the Chinatown has not changed much. It is located on the banks of the river between the streets of Maxwell, Cecil and New Bridge. The main streets of the block, which are actively visited by tourists, are Smith Street, Temple Street and Pagoda Street.
Chinatown in Singapore is a very tolerant area. Within it you will see the Buddhist temple of the Tooth of the Buddha , the Hindu temple of Sri Mariamman , as well as the Taoist temple of Tian Hok Ken and many Muslim buildings. You can go through the endless and one of Singapore 's most popular markets and buy China's national clothes, medicines and condiments, souvenirs from very artisanal and cheap to expensive vintage and quality items, including. antiques. Here the century-old shophauses coexist with modern offices, and the whole quarter, like in other cities, looks like one big market: endless noise, loud calls of sellers, running Chinese children and crowds of people going according to Brown's law. Shopping in such a place is an unconditional exotica in itself.
Those who want to eat have a whole street of food - Smith Street, various makashniki, cafes and restaurants, tea houses and pubs meet gourmets and Chinese food lovers. It is considered a special attraction of Singapore, with which it is recommended to get acquainted on the island more closely. In the evening, many people come here who want to have a snack or a slow dinner with delicacies of rice and vegetables, seafood, as always with an abundance of natural seasonings and lavishly poured with the famous Chinese sweet and sour sauce.
If you want to visit Chinatown in Singapore and do not know how much it works, absolutely any resident of Singapore will tell you or remind you that the peak of activity of the shopping district falls for about an hour or two and lasts until midnight. At night there are their own orders: a large-scale cleaning of everything that has been done for the whole working day was done: paper garbage, leftover food, packing of goods, etc. Although in Singapore it is very strictly clean and it is forbidden to throw garbage on the streets, but in Chinese quarter of its historical view on this issue.
How to get there?
The metro station from which you will start your journey, bears the same name with the area - Chinatown. Nearby there is a bus stop no. C2, 166, 197, NR 5, 80, 145.
Since the population of Singapore is almost 80% of the Chinese emigrants, it makes no sense to limit them to a separate area of residence. Thus, the Chinatown in Singapore is, rather, a tourist attraction, rather than a residential area. And if you visit it for the celebration of the New Year (and these are festive processions, fireworks and magicians, local concerts), endless vivid impressions and emotions are guaranteed to you.
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