We would like a full restoration of Smith and Pagoda Streets. Shophouses will be painted in their original colours to recreate the architectural designs of the 1900s. To ensure that they do not fall into disrepair over time, the buildings will be regularly maintained. Several of the shophouses can also be refurbished inside to show how it looks like on the interior as well as the exterior. Visitors can be allowed in to experience what living conditions were like for the Chinese immigrants of the past. This experience would be similar to the recreated prison cell as in the Changi Prison Chapel.
Less of the brightly coloured shophouses...
And more of the traditionally-coloured ones.
For the Food Street, we encourage more hawker pushcarts to set up shop there. Instead of normal hawker fare, stallholders can also sell traditional Chinese treats like haw candy. There should be more herb and dried goods stores so that the target audience of these two streets is not just tourists.
As for Pagoda Street, the number of souvenir stalls could be lessened, so as not to overwhelm visitors with the “tourist attraction” vibe. Even though one main objective of this area is as a tourist destination, this element should be more subtle compared to the historical aura of the street. Now, the layout of the stalls partially blocks the view of the shophouses. By spreading out the stalls over a larger area, visitors will be able to better enjoy the ambience of the area.
We support the STB’s plans to build a Village Theatre. It will help to educate the younger generation about Cantonese opera and other forms of Chinese theatre, and bring back memories of the Lai Chun Yuen theatre on Smith Street.
Conclusion:
Change is what Chinatown has seen in the last 100 years. Change is what it will be seeing in the future. However, not all change is positive, and not all negative. In conclusion, we at Spaces for Identity hope that we will be able to restore Chinatown not just to its former glory, but also to the hearts of Singaporeans. It is through the locals that tourists learn of what to enjoy in Singapore, and so Chinatown needs to be more of a place of lost memories in order to sustain it as a tourist attraction. We hope that our research will pave the way to bringing back the culture and identity of Chinatown that we Singaporeans love.
Chinatown - tourist site, local hangout!
Thank you!
Kimberly
