It's the school holiday, so I brought my niece to visit the Chinatown Heritage Centre. I used to pass by this centre each time I shopped at Chinatown but did not get a chance to go in. So this is my first visit to the centre. Wondering what's interesting exhibits it holds.
Outside the centre is a statue of a samsui woman, she represents a group of chinese immigrants who came to Singapore in the 1920s to seek job in the construction industry.
Coming to Singapore as cheap labourers, Samsui women worked mainly in the construction industry and other industries that required hard labour. They also worked as domestic servants. They had a reputation of rejecting jobs involving drug (particularly opium) peddling, prostitution, or other vices, even if that meant they sometimes had to live in poverty. They made a lot of contribution to Singapore's early development mostly by building houses and some of them worked at hawker centres mending the stalls there too. You can read more about them from
wikipedia.
Saw this panel with all the chinese surnames, flip each panel to read the origins and history of the surnames and the provinces which they came from in China.
This particular surname Lee and his full name is Lee Dai Soh is a familar figure with the older generations of Singapore cause he is a very famous cantonese story teller on radio and rediffusion.
This miniature junk is a replica of the bigger junk which most chinese immigrants came to Singapore from China in harsh conditions. My both sets of grandparents and my father were also among these immigrants.
Young immigrants easily led astray by the four evils.
Drinking
Prostitution
Opium Smoking
Gambling
Living condition during the past were very poor, the corridor were narrow and dark and each unit can houses several cubicles of families.
They have to share a common kitchen and bathroom.
In the past, people cannot afford to purchase a refrigerator so they kept their food in small cabinet and hang them up to prevent rats from crawling in.
Can guess that this room belongs to a family who either makes or sell shoes.
This part of the exhibit shows the market place where everyones seems so busy selling and purchasing.
Replica of a tea house where the spitton under the table is a common sight during the earlier times of chinatown and also other parts of Singapore.
F&N Beverages in wooden crates were very popular during the earlier times and especially during Chinese New Year. I remember we used the empty rounded bottles to double up as rolling pins. Nowadays they dont comes in bottles or wooden crates.
A bookstore where the magazines with then popular actresses on the covers, think is during the50s, 60s and 70s.
I used to have the small bicycle when I was a young child, all these exhibits really bring back fond memories of my childhood and I spend time explaining each of them to my 12 year old niece.
At one corner is a replica of a jewllery shop.
The chain above is actually a belt to tie round the waist to hold the skirt or sarong. My late mom had a similar belt chain and she gave it to my brother. Maybe one day I will take photo of it and post it here.
All these wired bangles are so familar to me and yes, I wore them too as a child. The one I wore is actually like the one below but I think my late mom had discarded them.
Outside the centre is a statue of a samsui woman, she represents a group of chinese immigrants who came to Singapore in the 1920s to seek job in the construction industry.
Coming to Singapore as cheap labourers, Samsui women worked mainly in the construction industry and other industries that required hard labour. They also worked as domestic servants. They had a reputation of rejecting jobs involving drug (particularly opium) peddling, prostitution, or other vices, even if that meant they sometimes had to live in poverty. They made a lot of contribution to Singapore's early development mostly by building houses and some of them worked at hawker centres mending the stalls there too. You can read more about them from wikipedia.
Saw this panel with all the chinese surnames, flip each panel to read the origins and history of the surnames and the provinces which they came from in China.
This particular surname Lee and his full name is Lee Dai Soh is a familar figure with the older generations of Singapore cause he is a very famous cantonese story teller on radio and rediffusion.
This miniature junk is a replica of the bigger junk which most chinese immigrants came to Singapore from China in harsh conditions. My both sets of grandparents and my father were also among these immigrants.
Young immigrants easily led astray by the four evils.
Drinking
Prostitution
Opium Smoking
Gambling
