Chinatown
牛车水
Singapore's Chinatown, with the Chinese-style Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, colourful shophouses, Maxwell Food Centre's famous Hainanese chicken rice, and festive lights during Mid-Autumn and Lunar New Year. It's the best place in the city to see Chinese heritage and Nanyang food side by side.
Chinatown is Singapore's Chinese quarter, a settlement that grew up in the 19th century as Chinese immigrants arrived. The name comes from the water carts (oxcarts) once used to haul water. Today the historic district centres on Pagoda Street, Smith Street and Trengganu Street, lined with restored colourful shophouses.
Highlights include the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, a Chinese-style temple completed in 2007 that houses a Buddha tooth relic. Its top floor has a Hall of 10,000 Buddhas and a rooftop garden. Entry is free, but dress modestly. Right across the street is Sri Mariamman Temple, Singapore's oldest Hindu temple, with its colourful gopuram (tower of deities), a reminder of how different faiths coexist here. Nearby is Jamae Mosque. The Chinatown Heritage Centre (about S$18) shows what early immigrant life was like. Smith Street has its food streets and Ann Siang Hill, while Club Street has boutique cafés and bars that come alive in the evening.
Food is the main draw. Go to Maxwell Food Centre for Tian Tian Hainanese chicken rice, which often has long queues, and for Jin Hua fish slice noodles. The Chinatown Complex Food Centre is home to Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle, the first hawker stall to earn a Michelin star. Pearl's Centre is known for bak kwa (dried pork jerky) and Nanyang coffee.
For the liveliest season, visit the month before Lunar New Year, when Pagoda Street is decked out in lanterns and hosts New Year goods markets.
Getting there: take the MRT to Chinatown station and exit A to reach Pagoda Street directly. For Maxwell Food Centre, get off at Maxwell station.
Tips: prices on Pagoda Street are higher for tourists. Visitors to the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple must cover their shoulders and knees. After eating at a hawker centre, return your tray yourself, as a fine applies if you don't.
Opening hours
Open all day; Buddha Tooth Relic Temple 07:00–17:00; hawker center approx. 08:00–22:00
Nearby sights
- Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
- Lau Pa Sat
- Clarke Quay
- Asian Civilisations Museum
- National Gallery Singapore
- Fort Canning Park
- Merlion Park
- Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay