Chinatown
Chinese New Year 2012

It's that time of the year again where the streets of Chinatown are filled with stalls peddling their new year goodies. Stall keepers call out to passersby to entice them with sample tit-bits. People are squeezing shoulder to shoulder and the air is thick with the mood of the new year.

To see Chinatown from higher up, CLICK HERE

Singapore's Chinatown evolved around 1821 when the first Chinese junk arrived from Xiamen, Fujian province in China. The passengers, all men, set up home around the south of the Singapore River which is known today as Telok Ayer. Chinatown’s local name - Niu Che Shui (Bullock Cart Water) arose from the fact each household at that time had to collect fresh water from the wells in Ann Siang Hill and Spring Street, using bullock-drawn carts.

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