Chinatown is one of the must-visit places in the Downtown of Singapore. It attracts a lot of tourists and locals because of its location, food street, shopping and multi-cultural history.
My boyfriend and I spent our last day trip in Chinatown Singapore to buy some souvenirs for our friends and families. There were so many things to choose from but at the same time we had fun.
Getting there
Chinatown is located at the Outram District of the Central City so going there from wherever you are is quite easy and accessible to any kind of transportation.
By Bus = Buses 1,7,8,37,49,75 drops by around Chinatown
By MRT= You may take the North East Line that will drop you to the Chinatown Station.
If you are in a hurry , the fastest way is by boat. Take the Chao Phraya River Express to reach Chinatown.
If you wanna get around, Chinatown is only an 18-minute walk from Clarke Quay Station (North East Line) via South Bridge Road.
Shopping
This is definitely the best place to go for a shopping spree that is also a budget-friendly for both tourists and locals.
Chinatown is mostly crowded especially on weekends and peak seasons.
Places we recommend for shopping are; Chinatown Complex, Cio Chinatown Point, Chinatown Plaza and the Street Markets.
Souvenirs
Surprisingly, Chinatown is one of the top places for cheaper finds. A great place to buy a number of souvenirs especially if you are buying for your families and friends. Price starts from 1 SGD. That’s really cheap! They even sell 3 items for 10 SGD / 7 USD.
Souvenirs to Buy: Traditional Clothes, Fan, Chinese Tea, Chinese Handcrafts, hand-made accessories, ceramic plates and tea sets, key chains and many more.
Food Street
Experience multi-ethnic cuisine and dishes in the famous Chinatown Food Street.
The place has an open air eateries and gives a vibrant feeling with appetizing colors of Red and Orange everywhere making visitors hungry and want more.
We recommend trying their “Roasted Peking Duck with Mushroom“, a Hokkien dish from Beijing (Peking) , China. The dish is made of steamed rice topped with Roasted Duck and a sweet savory sauce added with chopped Chinese broccoli and sliced Egg & Mushrooms. It costs 12 SGD / 455 pesos / 9 USD for a platter per person.
Check out our Food Trip in Singapore:
Statue of Samsui woman
Passing by the Street Market of Chinatown, you will come across a black statue of a woman wearing folded pants and carrying 2 baskets.
This statue was known to be as “Samsui woman“. In the 1930’s, these female immigrants from the province of Canton, China were said to be construction laborers and domestic servants. A red headgear was their famous trademark since it was part of their clothing.
For many years, Samsui women have become a popular cultural icon and Singaporeans built a statue to commemorate them.
