Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street, Haji Lane

The main ethnic groups that make the population of Singapore (Chinese, Malays, Indians) have also their own local cultures and some neighbourhoods are especially worth visiting in this sense. The Chinatown is where thousands of Chinese immigrants arrived during the 19th and 20th centuries in order to find jobs and have a better future here in these Southern seas, in Nanyang. Singapore was then founded by British as a trade port. The big neighbourhood of Chinatown is still lively by Chinese locals, playing chess, selling souvenirs. The Chinese Heritage Centre can be visited to get to know the history; there’s also an important temple. Another neighbourhood is Little India, close to Arab Street and Haji Lane, a colourful street lined with design shops. Everything in Singapore is commercialised so do not expect to find a place where you cannot shop or eat!