Chinatown (, Yale: Ngàuhchēséui, , ) is a subzone and ethnic enclave located within the Outram district in the Central Area of Singapore. Featuring distinctly Chinese cultural elements, Chinatown has had a historically concentrated ethnic Chinese population.
Chinatown is considerably less of an enclave than it once was. However, the precinct does retain significant historical and cultural significance. Large sections of it have been declared national heritage sites officially designated for conservation by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Etymology
Singapore's Chinatown is known as Niu che shui () in Mandarin, Gû-chia-chúi in Hokkien and Ngàuh-chē-séui in Cantonese - all of which mean "bullock water-cart" - and Kreta Ayer in Malay (Post-1972 spelling: kereta air), which means "water cart". This is due to the fact that Chinatown's water supply was principally transported by animal-driven carts in the 19th century. Although these names are sometimes used for referring to Chinatown in general, they actually refer to the area of Kreta Ayer Road.
Geography
Chinatown consists of four distinctive sub-areas which were developed at different times. Telok Ayer - developed in the 1820s. Kreta Ayer - developed in the 1830s Bukit Pasoh - developed in early 1900s Tanjong Pagar - developed in the 1920s Chinatown Complex is located along Smith Street, which was known colloquially as hei yuan kai (theatre street) in Cantonese because of its famous Cantonese opera theatre Lai Chun Yuen, which opened in 1887 to cater to the Cantonese community there, drawing large crowds during the 1910s and 1920s (Nasir, 2005).
History
Development
Under the Raffles Plan of Singapore, Chinatown originally was a division of colonial Singapore where Chinese immigrants tended to reside. Although as Singapore grew, Chinese immigrants settled in other areas of the island-city, Chinatown became overcrowded within decades of Singapore's founding in 1819 and remained such until many residents were relocated at the initiation of Singapore's governmental Housing Development Board in the 1960s.
In 1822, Sir Stamford Raffles wrote to Captain C. E. Davis, President of the Town Committee, and George Bonham and Alex L. Johnson, Esquires, and members, charging them with the task of "suggesting and carrying into effect such arrangements on this head, as may on the whole be most conducive to the comfort and security of the different classes of inhabitants and the general interests and welfare of the place..."
He went on to issue instructions, as a guide to the Committee, which included a general description of Singapore Town, the ground reserved by the government, the European town and principal mercantile establishments and the native divisions and "kampungs". These included areas for Bugis, Arabs, Indians, Malays and Chinese kampungs. Raffles was very clear in his instructions and his guidelines were to determine the urban structure of all subsequent development. The "five-foot way", for example, the continuous covered passage on either side of the street, was one of the public requirements.
Raffles foresaw the fact that "it may be presumed that they (the Chinese) will always form by far the largest portion of the community". For this reason, he appropriated all of the land southwest of the Singapore River for their accommodation but, at the same time, insisted that the different classes and the different provinces be concentrated in their separate quarters and that these quarters, in the event of fire, be constructed of masonry with tiled roofs.
This thus resulted in the formation of a distinct section titled Chinatown. However, only when parcels of land were leased or granted to the public in and after 1843 for the building of houses and shophouses, did Chinatown's physical development truly begin.
Legacy
The legacy of cultural diversity in Chinatown is still present. There used to exist some Hokkien merchants along Havelock Road, Telok Ayer Street, China Street and Chulia Street, and Teochew merchants are mostly in Circular Road, River Valley Road, Boat Quay and South Bridge Road near Chinatown. The ubiquitous Cantonese are scattered around South Bridge Road, Upper Cross Street, New Bridge Road and Bukit Pasoh Road as well as others. These days, the former Hokkien and Teochew residents have largely scattered to other parts of the island, leaving the Cantonese as the dominant dialect group in Chinatown.
The Chinese names of Pickering Street are Kian Keng Khau (mouth of the gambling houses) or Ngo Tai Tiahn Hok Kiong Khau (mouth of the five generations of the Tian Hok Temple).