Singapore’s Chinatown is a traditional Chinese neighborhood that has existed since the early 1800’s. Even today, a large percentage of the district’s inhabitants is of Chinese descent and roughly constitutes 75 percent of the population. Despite it is less of an enclave at present, Chinatown still holds important cultural and historical significance for Singaporeans.

Chinatown came into being when the first Chinese Junk arrived in the country in1821, from Xiamen in Fujian Province. The sailors and merchants onboard the vessel settled down south of Singapore River in an area which is today referred to as the Telok Ayer. As the country grew, the numbers of Chinese immigrants also increased and Chinatown too expanded simultaneously. However not all parts of Chinatown are Chinese, a notable exception is Mosque Street which is named after the Jamae Mosque, which was constructed in 1830 by Chulia Muslims from South India.

For tourists, the major hotspot in Chinatown is the area between Pagoda Street and Smith Street, which holds some of the finest malls in Singapore. Smaller shops that sell antiques and traditional Chinese arts and crafts are also common in this region. Shopping malls such as the People’s Park Complex, Chinatown Point, The Majestic and Pearl’s Centre house shops that sell everything from consumer electronics, antiques, and Buddhist relics to designer clothing and lingerie.

Cultural highlights here include the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, which is one of the holiest Buddha temples in the country. It supposedly holds a tooth relic belonging to the Sakyamuni Buddha and has a 27 foot statue of the Maitreya Buddha. Other religious institutions such as the Sri Mariamman Temple, Jammae Mosque and the Thian Hock Keng Temple are also important cultural highlights. The Red Dot design Museum devoted to contemporary Design and the Chinatown Heritage Centre which chronicles the history of the district are also worth a visit.

Located near many Singapore hotels, Chinatown is an important part of the country’s history. A hotel in Singapore in this area would you great insight into the culture of the district as well as providing convenient links to other sights and sounds of the country.