Chinatown or niu che shui in Chinese, was once home to the early Chinese immigrants of Singapore. Its Chinese name comes from the bullock carts that used to supply fresh water to the immigrants that lived in the area.

Fast forward to the present day, this ethnic enclave has transformed into an eclectic amalgamation of old and new. Think boutiques housed in restored heritage shophouses and some of Singapore’s oldest temples nestled among high skyscrapers.

From places of worship and heritage murals to Singapore’s largest hawker centre, here is our Guide to Singapore’s Chinatown. With so much to see and so many things to do, you’ll definitely be captivated by the charms of this old neighbourhood.

BUDDHA TOOTH RELIC TEMPLE

Located in the heart of Chinatown is Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, one of Singapore’s most popular tourist attractions. This Tang-styled Chinese Buddhist temple features intricate architecture and it is here where visitors are able to view sacred religious artefacts. It boasts a rooftop garden that exudes tranquillity as well as a large prayer wheel and pagoda.

288 South Bridge Road
Singapore 058840
Tel: +65 6220 0220
Daily: 7am – 7pm
Nearest Station: Chinatown

CHINATOWN COMPLEX FOOD CENTRE

At Singapore’s largest hawker centre with almost 300 food stalls, you are guaranteed to get an authentic experience at Chinatown Complex Food Centre. With a myriad of local cuisine to choose from and prices ranging from S$2.50 to S$3, you’ll not only be spoilt for choice but you’ll be more than glad to sweat it out too.

355 Smith Street
Chinatown Complex
Singapore 050335
Nearest Station: Chinatown

ELDERLY CORNER

Just right in front of Chinatown Complex Food Centre, you’ll find a sheltered area where many senior citizens and residents gather for a lil’ R&R. Most of the time, they can be seen playing Checkers or Chinese Chess, reading newspapers or simply chatting with each other.

MURALS

Hidden in the nooks and crannies of the concrete jungle, Singapore actually has a flourishing street art scene. And Chinatown is a good starting point to embark on a street wall crawl around the island.

The more popular ones here such as the Cantonese Opera, Detective Conan in Chinatown and Paper Mask and Puppet Seller are by prominent local street artist Yip Yew Chong who is known for his murals of Old Singapore that encompasses our heritage.

PAGODA STREET

Upon exiting Chinatown MRT station, you’ll find yourself on Pagoda Street the main shopping street of Chinatown. A famous area for opium trade back in the day, it has been transformed into a pedestrian street lined with restored shophouses and street stalls selling souvenirs.

Also located here is the Chinese Heritage Centre where you can experience how life was for the early migrants that settled in Chinatown.

SRI MARIAMMAN TEMPLE

Situated in vibrant Chinatown is Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple. Built by Indian immigrants in the 1800s, the exterior of the temple features 6 tiers of sculptures of deities and mythological figures. The fact that you can find a Hindu temple in the middle of an ethnically Chinese enclave is a clear testament of multiculturalism in Singapore.

244 South Bridge Road
Singapore 058793
Daily: 7am – 12pm, 6pm – 9pm
Nearest Station: Chinatown

SINGAPOREAN ICE CREAM SANDWICH

Cool off from the sweltering heat by getting yourself a Singaporean ice cream sandwich – a dessert that is unique to our island. Nestled between a piece of rainbow-coloured bread or wafers is a huge block of ice cream with a flavour of your choice. It’s easy to spot the ice cream uncle, just look out for a big red umbrella!

We’ve just finished celebrating Christmas and the New Year, yet we are already stoked to start our annual preparations for the next big exciting thing: Chinese New Year! There are lots to do leading up to the Lunar New Year celebrations, and what better place to soak in the festivities as well as to get all your Chinese New Year necessities than at Chinatown’s annual CNY night market?

The colourful streets of Chinatown are lined with a variety of stalls that sells everything you’ll need for the New Year. From shops that sell an assortment of traditional and contemporary snacks, ornaments and decorative pieces to roadside stalls that sell interesting knick-knacks and trinkets, we can foresee ourselves spending a very long time here over the next few weeks!

CHINESE NEW YEAR GOODIES GALORE  

Undoubtedly, our favourite part of Chinese New Year has to be all those festive goodies! While some prefer to stick to tradition and sell the usual snacks such as love letters and bak kwa, while others choose to be more innovative by coming up with interesting new snacks that no one has ever seen or heard of before.

Many of the traditional snacks hold very auspicious meanings. For instance, peanuts symbolise vitality, longevity and riches while nian gao is usually eaten for prosperity and promotion. If you’re curious about the meaning of other Chinese New Year traditions, you can read all about them here. 

Chinatown is also the place to be at if you need to stock up on your favourite thematic cookies such as almond cookies and pineapple tarts. Look at all these colourful jars of snacks! Time to put all your diet plans on hold.

If you are a fan of dried meats like lup cheong, waxed duck, liver sausage and other cured delights, you’d be thrilled to know that there is a massive stall with walls that are lined with every kind of cured meat you could name.

GORGEOUS FESTIVE PLANTS 

If you are someone who appreciates exotic plants, you’ll be glad to know that you can find plenty of such plants in the market. Besides traditional favourites such as tangerine plants and pussy willows, feast your eyes on a wide range of other exotic plants that are only available during the Lunar New Year.

INTERESTING TRINKETS AND DECORATIVE ITEMS 

You can’t invite people over to your house for visitations if it isn’t decorated, can you? Fret not though, as the Chinatown market overflows with beautiful decorative items to jazz up your home.

Amidst all the pretty lights and decorations, this man caught our eye. In the middle of a crowded street, he was patiently painting the lively scene of the night market and it was simply mesmerising to watch him at work. It definitely isn’t something that you see every day!

MESMERISING CHINESE NEW YEAR DECORATIONS 

What is a trip to Chinatown without admiring the gorgeous new year decorations that have been painstakingly done up? When it comes to festive decorations, Singapore is known to go all out in terms of the extravagance and sheer size of their displays.

This year is no different and along New Bridge Road at the outskirts of the Chinatown district, you can expect to see a display of two adorable, giant pig lanterns that are surrounded by plenty of small piglet lanterns. It is definitely a sight to behold and makes for a great #OOTD spot for the gram!

Set for us to reminisce the olden days and for the youth to delve deeper into Singapore’s past, Chinatown’s Mid-Autumn Festival is back again this year, bigger, better and brighter than ever.

From 8 Sep to 8 Oct 2018, head over to Chinatown in Singapore to catch a glimpse of exceptional art pieces, get a taste of nostalgic delights and feast your eyes on a myriad of performances—all of which depict the olden days back in the 1950s and 1960s.

Donned with 1,288 beautifully lit accordion paper lanterns and over 160 figurines showcasing the yesteryears of Singapore, including a 10-metre tall centrepiece that resembles a Chinese Junk ship, the streets of Chinatown is where you should be heading on upcoming nights.

Here is what you can expect at the much anticipated Mid-Autumn Festival in Chinatown.

This year, the street lights on display are designed to focus on the stories of the early immigrants in Singapore, more specifically with regards to how they have contributed to nation building in various ways.

Upon closer inspection, you’d find that these street lights are figurines that are made to resemble early immigrants, such as samsui women, coolies and street hawkers which all played a huge role in the development of Singapore.

You can find these stunning street figures scattered along New Bridge Road, Eu Tong Sen Street and South Bridge Road.

Planted right across the bustling streets outside Chinatown Point, the main highlight of all the light-ups this year is the spectacular Chinese junk ship.

Standing tall at 10 metres, this colossal structure represents the main mode of transport in which Singapore’s forefathers took to migrate over here, back in the 50s and 60s.

Besides these stunning light-ups, look forward to an array of events that will be taking place throughout the entire month of September and the beginning of October.

This is where you can expect a line-up of exciting performances and over 200 food vendors during the Festive Street Bazaar serving food items that you can’t get elsewhere—not to mention that they are all affordably priced a just a dollar or two each. This would be held on 7 Sep to 24 Sep 2018 daily from 6.30pm to 10.30pm.

Be sure to also watch the traditional Chinese cultural performances that will take place every night from 8 Sep to 24 Sep 2018, and catch their grand fireworks display on the last night of the Mid-Autumn Festival happening on 8 Oct 2018!

For more information, please visit www.chinatownfestivals.sg.

Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival 2018
When: 8 Sep – 8 Oct 2018

There is much to behold and be stoked about this festive season as we usher in the year of the dog this Chinese New Year. Besides the usual house visitations, reunion meals and customary receiving of ang paos (red packets), there is loads more to look forward to, especially in Chinatown.

With a variety of stalls lining up the streets of Chinatown with interesting knick-knacks to buy and festive foods to try, we can’t think of anywhere better to soak up the Lunar New Year atmosphere than at this bustling district.

Stuff yourselves silly with an array of mouth-watering new year delicacies, enjoy the brilliant lights and decorations of the stalls and shop for traditional goodies from cookies, decorative items to even costumes! This is one street bazaar you do not want to miss!

CHINESE NEW YEAR GOODIES GALORE

Walking around the bustling night market, one of the most prominent sounds you will likely hear echoing through the streets is the hot deals for peanuts, dried goods and seeds.

Sunflower or melon seeds to Chinese people are what popcorn is to moviegoers, they make a great snack and are one of the most highly consumed perishables during the Lunar New Year.

Peanuts, on the other hand, possess a more symbolic value. To the Chinese people, It symbolizes vitality, longevity, and riches which is why it is often bought and eaten during the festive season.

Chinese New Year—or any other cultural celebration for that matter—would not quite be the same without an abundance of thematic cookies.

From almond cookies, pineapple tarts and even some oddities that we have never encountered before, there is no doubt something for every household. We particularly love the range of goodies there are on display and the fact that many of the stalls here give out free samples.

Perhaps one of the most impressive things to see at the market is the massive stalls selling dried meat. These items are commonly used in Chinese cooking in a variety of different ways.

Whether it’s dried Chinese sausages you fancy, waxed duck or even a variety of cured delights, there is bound to be something to astound you.

KNICK-KNACKS AND DECORATIVE ITEMS

Here at the Chinatown Chinese New Year market, you will find no shortage of decorative items and knick-knacks to beautify your home with or even to give away as souvenirs.

We may not be the traditional sort but we were thoroughly impressed by the sheer diversity here—from Chinese calligraphy, red packets with various designs to even doggy-centric knick-knacks signifying the year of the dog.

BRILLIANT DECORATIONS

When it comes to festive decorations, Singapore is rarely known to skimp on extravagance, let alone the sheer size of its decorative displays.

This year, along New Bridge Road along the outskirts of the Chinatown district, locals and visitors alike will get to marvel at the massive dog display there. Feel free to snap a few photos or even take a selfie with it—just be sure to watch for oncoming traffic while you’re at it!

FESTIVE PLANTS

If you are someone who is intrigued by exotic botanicals, then be sure to make a stop at one of the many plant stalls. Besides the traditional tangerine plants and Pussy Willows, you will also get to see a wide range of exotic plant species that are only exclusively available during the Chinese New Year.

This year’s Chinese New Year Market over at Chinatown takes place along Pagoda Street, Smith Street, Sago Street, Temple Street and Trengganu Street.