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What is a Chinatown?
A Chinatown is an area in which many ethnic Chinese lived or
work.
In most cases, these ethnic Chinese are migrants and minorities in their
host country or new homeland. Chinatowns can be found in most cities in South
East Asia, North America, Europe, Australia and Africa.
Most Chinatowns have an
archway that marks its boundaries. These archways are often
sponsored by individuals or institutions in honor of rulers, dignitaries,
individuals or events.
Chinatowns are usually named after the city they are located
in for example,
London Chinatown, San Francisco
Chinatown,
Manila
Chinatown…
Although ethnic Chinese populations have lived and worked beyond
Chinatown and integrated culturally (in most cases and to certain degree) with their new homeland, Chinatown continues to have
symbolic meanings to the ethnic Chinese.
The reputation of Chinatown reflects the
relationship between ethnic Chinese and host country. In the past, Chinatowns
were regarded as a piece of China in the host country and at times associated
with crime or disorder. However, as ideas of cultural pluralism spread and as
economic status of ethnic Chinese improves, many Chinatowns function as sites
for cross-cultural interaction and as tourist attractions.
In many cities, Chinatown is the public space to celebrate
traditional Chinese festivals like the Chinese New Year, Dumpling Festival, and Mid Autumn Festival...
Chinatowns have also become major tourist attractions for
domestic and international tourists. In its role as tourist
attractions, some Chinatowns have put up icons such as archways that previously
did not exist in an attempt to recreate a Chinatown as imagined by tourists.
Academics have criticised such recreation of Chinatown for tourist consumption
as part of the "plastic fantastic culture".
Singapore Chinatown
 In 1819, Stamford Raffles (later Sir Stamford) of the British East India Company
established a trading settlement in Singapore. Before leaving for Java, he
appointed William Farquhar to be the first British Resident and Commandant
of Singapore from 1819 to 1823.
When Raffles returned in 1822, he had
plans for an orderly city segregated by ethnicity. This vision unfolded in the
Jackson
Plan of 1822 where four ethnic areas were designated for the different ethnic
groups.
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 1843 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 from Telok Ayer Basin. Telok
Ayer Street was originally located very close to the sea and the Hokkeins
community built the Thian Hock Keng Temple （天福宫） in 1840 for migrants to
give thanks to the Sea Goddess, Mazu （妈祖）for a safe journey from China to
Singapore. 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. The Teochews built
the Wak Hai Cheng Bio at the Philip Street.
In
1879 reclamation works along Telok Ayer pushed the sea line forward. By then,
Chinatown had expanded with the rise in Chinese migrants.
Generally speaking, Chinatown covers Kreta Ayer, Telok Ayer, Tanjong Pagar and
Bukit Pasoh. Today, most of the original structures had disappeared and high
rise buildings built in their place.
Singapore Chinatown is unique in several
aspects
It is
better known as Niu Che Shui (牛车水) literally translated as
“Ox-cart water”.
Being a
multi-racial and multi-cultural society since its founding, Singapore Chinatown
is not the exclusive sphere of the ethnic Chinese. From its very early days, Indians and Muslims had lived alongside
the Chinese.
Indian Temples, Mosques can be found along with
Temples
and Monasteries.
Although archways are common in other Chinatowns,
Singapore Chinatown did not have an archway till recent years when
one was built by the Singapore Tourism Board possibly to enhance the
“Chinatowness” of Singapore Chinatown.
The ethnic Chinese formed the majority of Singapore while in
other countries, the
ethnic Chinese are usually minorities in their new homeland.
Singapore Chinatown is probably the capital of
Chinese food
in Singapore.
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