What was Sago Street also known as? What is a dying house in Singapore? How did Chinatown get its name? Does 4 mean death in Chinese? Which city has the best Chinatown?
Which Chinatown is the best? How many Chinese are in Russia? What countries can enter China visa-free? 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 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. The very early Chinatown stretched inwards from Telok Ayer Basin. 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.
Chinese communities also developed outside of this official Chinatown. For example, Hakkas lived around Bugis area. 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. But if you hanker for something different, Tanjong Pagar is also Singapore's unofficial Korean district and there are a large number of very good Korean restaurants too, plus a sprinkling of European fine dining establishments around Club St and Duxton Hill. As Chinatown was traditionally an enclave for Singapore's Cantonese community, the Chinatown market is an excellent place to sample some local Cantonese dishes on a budget.
Smith Street is a single row of fancy stalls with the nicest ambience of the lot and quite decent food too, although open for dinner only.
Connoisseurs may also wish to check out the 2nd floor of the newly renovated Chinatown Complex , which hosts one of Singapore's largest hawker centres with over stalls, but this labyrinthine warren of concrete and fluorescent lighting is both hard to navigate and not exactly a treat to the eyes.
One of Singapore's best food hawker centres, 1. It is open 24 hours. Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar have a vibrant nightlife. As you'd expect, karaoke boxes and their dodgier cousin the KTV lounge predominate, but the area around Club St and Ann Siang Hill has many upmarket wine bars catering to expats and moneyed locals. Many of the second-floor bars and clubs in the area cater to Singapore's gay community, so look out for the rainbow flags.
While there are a few ordinary hotels, the most interesting accommodation options in Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar are in renovated shophouses. Keong Saik Road , at the western edge of town, is a former red-light district which still retains more than its fair share of dodgy karaoke lounges — as well as a number of cheap, largely identical shophouse hotels, which look rather attractive from the outside but are all quite cramped, stuffy and dingy inside.
For more culture, head to Little India or Kampong Glam. Chinatown lost a bit of its soul after receiving various makeovers, with some local activity shifting over to the Bencoolen area centred around Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple in Bugis. Recent Chinese immigrants have gravitated towards Geylang in the east. The nearby Riverside is an easy walk north, while neighbouring Tiong Bahru, the very first Singaporean public housing estate, has also undergone a similar revitalisation, spurring the opening of boutique eateries and shops.
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