Chinatown Heritage Centre

The Chinatown Heritage Centre (CHC) is a joint project between the Singapore Tourism Board and the National Heritage Board. Located in three newly restored shophouses along Pagoda Street, the Chinatown Heritage Center houses a wealth of memories and untold stories from the past. Each level of the Centre takes you to a different time in the history of Chinatown and allows you to trace the lives of these early settlers. Learn about the rich cultural history of old Chinatown and end your journey with a first-hand experience of living in the dark and cramped quarters of a typical Chinatown shophouse. Features a Coolie’s Cubicle where a group of young coolies occupied this cubicle, which also doubled up as an opium den. It is said that a fire once started here - caused by a careless opium smoker.

Chinatown bursts into life and colour during the festive season. Some of the more popular celebrations include the Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival and even Theemithi, the Hindu firewalking ceremony.The different races residing in the area also celebrated their traditional festivals here, making Chinatown culturally vibrant and unique.  Street stalls were recreated to give visitors a feel of the day and night markets at old Chinatown. Known as 'Where the day never ends'. Chinatown was always bustling with life and activity even till the wee hours of the morning.

Chinatown Heritage Centre
48 Pagoda Street
Singapore 059207
Chinatown Heritage Centre Website: chinatownheritage.com.sg

What's inside Chinatown Heritage Centre:

• CHINATOWN COOLIE'S CUBICLE - A group of young coolies occupied this cubicle, which also doubled up as an opium den. It is said that a fire once started here - caused by a careless opium smoker.
• CHINATOWN CARPENTER'S FAMILY - Festivities are abound in the carpenter's cubicle as he prepares for his newborn's first month celebrations.
• HERITAGE CENTRE'S SAMSUI WOMEN - A group of thrifty Samsui women shared this little cubicle. Every morning, dressed in their characteristic red headgear, they would appear on the street, waiting to be taken to the construction sites for another day of gruelling work.
• CHINATOWN FOOD HAWKER'S FAMILY - A family of hawkers who peddled cooked food lived here, including a young son who was an inveterate gambler.
• CHINATOWN SHOE SELLER - Ah Ngoh Chieh lived alone in this small room, with barely enough space for her to sleep or eat. Every day, the shoe seller would drag her sacks of shoes down the stairs when it was time to open her stall.
• CHINATOWN PAINTER'S FAMILY - House painter Mr Cheong had a family of five girls and three boys, a typical family in Chinatown. This cubicle portrays the life of the Cheong family sisters, who shared the room with their mother.
• HERITAGE CENTRE'S MAJIE (FEMALE SERVANTS) - A group of four or five servants rented this cubicle. As uniformed 'black-and-white' servants, they lived with their employers, returning only twice a month to read letters from their homes in China and to catch up with friends.
• HERITAGE CENTER'S THE SEAMSTRESS - See Cheng, a seamstress, was adopted by a majie (female servant) when she was young. This cubicle is recreated from her memory of how her family's room was like.
• CHINATOWN TAILOR'S SHOP - Styled to recreate the glory of the tailoring business at Chinatown, this ground floor shophouse is an authentic replica of the many tailor shops that used to line Pagoda Street.   Behind the shop front was the main workshop where assistants did the sewing, ironing and other tailoring work. Successful tailors may have had more than one shop and a small army of assistants and apprentices to help out.  More affluent than the other occupants in the building, the tailor had his own rooms, one of which was occupied by his apprentices. He also had his own kitchen and the exclusive use of the airwell where his clothes could be hung out to dry. 

Updated On: 15.02.17