Chinatown - Niu Che Shui

Before the arrival of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in 1819, a small population of Chinese immigrants had already settled in Singapore, cultivating gambier and pepper. Shortly after establishing Singapore as a free port in 1819, Sir Stamford Raffles instructed Lieutenant Philip Jackson, an engineer, to draw up a master plan dividing the town into four areas for easy administration - the European, Malay, Indian and Chinese quarters. Between the 19th and mid-20th centuries, millions left their homes in China driven by famine, floods and unrest, and seduced by the hope of a better life elsewhere. They left in masses with many of them made their way to Nanyang, the southern seas. Singapore, in particular, was sought out as a place where one could earn a living. The new arrival is known as Sinkheh, or 'new guest' in Hokkien. That was what the Straits-born Chinese, who had arrived several generations earlier, called these new Chinese immigrants. It became what the newcomers were known....