Our tour starts from Telok Ayer Street, the first Chinatown in Singapore. This is where the early migrants landed in Singapore, and set up what is today's Thian Hock Keng Temple, a Taoist Temple. I will share with you the theology of this faith and the philosophy behind it. As we walk past Amoy Street, you will be introduced into the various foods that came to our shores from southern China. It gives you an idea that although all are Chinese, but the foods and the dialects are totally different in many aspects.
A short walk away, is Ann Siang Hill. A street lined with pre-war Art Deco shophouses. You will visit a Clan Association and see for yourself the mission of these association and their contribution to the Chinese community pre-independence of Singapore. As we walk the street of Chinatown, you will see the various herbs and traditional chinese medicines to improve well-beings; geckos, mushrooms and seahorses just to name a few. I will also share some of the local folk remedy that will sure to intrigue you.
The highlight of the tour is a visit to the Chinatown Heritage Centre. I will provide a guided tour in the gallery and here, you will witness, almost first hand, the sights and sounds and even smell of the conditions Singaporeans were living in before we moved to what is today's our middle class public housing.
This is a tour of 2 centuries that I strongly recommend you take with me. At the end of it, it will leave you with a deeper understanding about not just Chinese, but the multi-racial society Singaporeans are proud of.
