Skip to main content
A Singapore Government Agency Website How to identify
Official website links end with .gov.sg
Secure websites use HTTPS
Look for a lock () or https:// as an added precaution. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
National Library Board
Story Maps

Streets of Chinatown

15 December 2021

Find out the myriad interlocking stories encoded in the streets of Chinatown

A bustling city intersection with historic buildings and a colorful arch, text reads "Chinatown & Its Streets" and "Start Your Journey."

The names of places tell us a lot about a country. These include its history, landscape, people, aspirations and self-image. By studying these names, we can unlock the myriad interlocking stories that are encoded in every street and landmark.

Find out in this story map on the streets of Chinatown.

View the story map in full screen (opens in new tab) or on your mobile device by scanning the QR code below.

A QR code with the text "GO.gov.sg" and a stylized "G" in a circle in the center.
Notes

  1. This story map is not a comprehensive coverage of the streets in Chinatown.

  2. The base map used in this story map is the Singapore Land Authority's OneMap (opens in new tab).

  3. This story map used related Infopedia articles and other NLB digitised resources in NL Online (opens in new tab), BiblioAsia (opens in new tab), and Roots (opens in new tab) as references. It also consulted the following books: Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics (opens in new tab) (2013), What’s in the Name?: How the Streets and Villages in Singapore Got Their Names (opens in new tab) (2018), Ray Tyers’ Singapore: Then & Now (opens in new tab) (2018), Singapore: A Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places (opens in new tab) (1988), In Granite and Chunam: The National Monuments of Singapore (opens in new tab) (1996), and Singapore: A Pictorial History 1819-2000 (opens in new tab) (1999).

Image Credit

Photo by kallerna via Wikicommons (opens in new tab) (CC BY SA 4.0)