Chinatown Murals Singapore : Heritage Street Art Locations 2023 - TheWackyDuo.com - Singapore Lifestyle Portal

Chinatown Murals Singapore : Heritage Street Art Locations 2023

Let's go Mural hunting in Chinatown!

These colourful murals captured the old images of Chinatown. It can be found mainly along the alleyways and streets of Chinatown Singapore.

Here are the locations of Chinatown Murals in Singapore and where to find them.

Chinatown Street Art Singapore Locations

Banda Street

We will start the journey at Banda Street. This is where the iconic Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is located. In addition, murals can be found at Chinatown Complex and the stairs leading to Kreta Ayer Community Center. In 2015, there was a project called Colouring Banda Street 2015, where murals were commissioned to brighten up these streets. 




1 Welcome to our World (2015 / 2022)
Artist: Belinda Low
Location: Ground Floor Staircase in between Blk 4 and 5
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

Welcome to Our World - Banda Street

Samsui women are female immigrants known for their red headscarves. They worked mainly in construction and industrial jobs in the 1920-the 40s. They played prominent roles in building Singapore at the infancy stage.

Can you spot the Aranda Lee Kuan Yew and Vanda Kwa Geok Choo Orchids in the photos?

2 The Cool Dude (2015)
Artist: Belinda Low
Location: 2nd Floor Staircase in between Blk 4 and 5 BAnda ST
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

The Cool Dude - Banda Street

The Cool Dude is supposedly the male version of Samsui Women. The main jobs for them in the past are coolies (labourers) and fishermen. This mural is found at the same staircase on the 2nd Floor.

3 Bridge Over Calm Water (2015)
Location: 1st Floor Staircase between Blk 4 and 5- Bicycle Parking Space
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

Bridge Over Calm Water - Banda Street

Bridge over calm water has a painting of nine Koi swimming in a lake to symbolise unity, prosperity and longevity. An old couple stands at the side to admire the swimming koi.

Banda Street Mural

It is one of two murals found in the same nook.

4 The Back Lane (2015)
Location: 1st Floor Staircase between Blk 4 and 5 Bandai St. Bicycle Parking Space
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

The Back Lane Chinatown

The Back Lane depicts a scene of the back lanes of old Chinatown. It looks like a family is preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Interestingly, the bicycle parked in front gives it a 3D pop.


5 Our Past, Present and Future (2015)
Location: BLK 5 Banda  ST
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

Skyline

This pair of murals are located next to each other. They signify the old and new Singapore. It may be hard to spot them as trees partially cover them.

Samsui Women

6 Everyone is Kung Fu fighting
Location: 333 Kreta Ayer, next to Kreata Ayer People's Theatre
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

Everyone in Kung Fu Fighting

This is another Mural from the Colouring Banda Street 2015 Era. It shows 2 men practising Taiji ala Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Style. The name of the Mural has a nice ring to it.

7 Little Guilin
Location: 333 Kreta Ayer, next to Kreta Ayer People's Theatre
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

Little Guilin Kreta Ayer

Up the Staircases are 2 panels of a mural dedicated to Little Guilin at Bukit Batok. Little Guilin is a granite rock formation that resembles the rock formation in Guilin, Guangxi, China.

Little Guilin


8 Labour of Love (2015)
Location: 333 Kreta Ayer, next to Kreta Ayer People's Theatre
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

Labour of Love

A very long wall that depicts life in Chinatown. It is also part of the Colouring Banda Street 2015 series.

Chinatown Chess players

9 Springtime in Banda
Artist: Belinda Low
Location: Bridge Between Blk 4 Banda Street and Kreta Ayer Heights
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

Springtime in Banda

You have to head up to the 2nd floor, where the food stalls are, to find this

Springtime in Banda

10 Painted Faces
Location: Kreta Ayer People's Theatre
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

This is not part of the Colouring Banda series. Located at Kreta Ayer People's Theatre, it has various Chinese opera masks on display. It's more of an installation than a mural.

Painted faces

11 National Day (2022)
Artist: Belinda Low
Location: Blk 4 Banda Street facing Keong Saik Road
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

National Day
Scene of fireworks intertwined with traditional Chinatown icons such as Samsui Woman and Opera Singer. This mural also has a National Day flag past painted on it. This is a relatively new addition, as it was only painted in 2022.


12 Singapore Scene
Location: 333 Kreta Ayer facing Keong Saik Road
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

There are 4 panels of murals here. The murals are painted in a more modern style depicting National Harmony.

13 The Tiger in the Bamboo Forest
Location: Chinatown Department Store next to Chinatown Complex
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

We are still determining if this was part of the Year of the Tiger decor, but it has been here since. 

14 EVOLUTION/REVOLUTION
ARtist: SAM LO aka SKLO
Location: Junction of Kreta Ayer and Neil Road ( 56 Neil Road)
56 Neil Road

At the side of Wilmar holdings is a modern Street art mural. It looks out of place with the traditional street art around Chinatown, but the presence tells of a society moving ahead with time.This mural is dedicated to local music. If you are an oldie like me, you may recognise names like The Oddfellos and Force Vomit.




Chinatown Complex

15 Prosper in Wealth , HUAT Ah!
Location: Chinatown Complex Ground Floor
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

A montage of murals at Chinatown Complex. These murals are painted on the yellow pillars and walls around the complex. Proser in Wealth, Huat Ah! is done by Temasek Polytechnic School of Design Students for SG 50 Government initiative by NEA's Our Hawker Center. 

Spot Bruce Lee holding a durian(??), Fortune cat, Lion Dances and more


16 Singapore Hawker Heritage (2021)
Artist: BIBBY LOW
Location: Chinatown Complex Ground Floor Middle area
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

This mural is located in the middle of the Chinatown complex and pays tribute to the hawkers of yesterday at Chinatown.

17 The Path
Artist: Tom Civil
Location: Chinatown Complex (FaCING SMITH STREET)
NEAREST MRT: MAXWELL MRT



The Path is painted by Australian Artist Tom Civil and is part of 50 Bridges events. It shows the part of life and how we find ourselves within it.


SMITH Street

Moving to the next street, there are more murals to be discovered. Most of the murals were done by Yip Yew Cheng. The locations can be found here.



18 Letter Writer (2018)
Artist: Yip Yew Chong
Location: Smith Street near the junction to  NEw Bridge Rood
NEAREST MRT : CHINATOWN

You will see the first of many murals by the talented Yip Yew Chong (YC) depicting life in nostalgic Chinatown. His murals spread all around Singapore, and he is one of the more accomplished mural painters in town. 


Letter Writer shows a man plying his trade, writing letters for the illiterate, and writing CNY greetings that many still use to decorate their houses during this period. Pose with the Letter Writer by taking a seat opposite him. This mural is located next to The Path by Tom Civil

19 My Chinatown Home (2021)
Artist: Yip Yew Chong
Location: JUNCTION OF SMITH STREET AND SOUTH BRIDGE ROAD
NEAREST MRT : CHINATOWN

My Chinatown Home

The second mural by Yip Yew Chong on Smith Street depicts the artist's home in Sago lane featuring his mother in the mural.

Spot the artist


20 Detective Conan in Chinatown (2021)
Artist: Yip Yew Chong
Location: JUNCTION OF SMITH STREET AND SOUTH BRIDGE ROAD
NEAREST MRT : CHINATOWN

Detective Conan came to Chinatown to try our 'smelly durians. Detective Conan is a character in a Japanese detective manga series. We don't know the connection with Chinatown, but it is another mural by Yip Yew Chong.


TEMPLE STREET

21 MID AutuMN FESTIVAL
Artist: Yip Yew Chong
Location: ALLEY BETWEEN TEMPLE  STREET AND PAGODA STREET ( BEHIND LUCKY CHINATOWN)
NEAREST MRT : CHINATOWN

Mid-Autumn Festival

An old-school Mid-Autumn Festival celebration scene. Before battery-operated light lanterns, cellophane lanterns were the norm. The old-school lanterns were often bright and colourful.



22 CHINATOWN MARKET
Artist: Yip Yew Chong
Location: Alleyway between TEMPEL STREET AND PAGODA STREET (MIDDLE)
NEAREST MRT : CHINATOWN

Chinatown Market

This is one of the most extensive murals in Chinatown, spanning 3 storeys high and taking a whole side of a building. This is the second mural by Yip Yew Chong on Smith Street.

Kopitiam

Filled with intriguing details, it depicts life in Chinatown of yesteryears.  You can pose with this by finding a plastic stool nearby and inserting yourself in the mural.

Vegetable Sellers

You would see fruit sellers, barbers plying their trades, a coffee shop scene and even a duck hawker.

Duck Hawker

Look up and see a person pouring tea with a huge teapot.

Source YC


This is by far the most impressive mural in Chinatown.


23 CHINATOWN SCENE
Location: Alleyway between TEMPEL STREET AND PAGODA STREET (MIDDLE)
NEAREST MRT : CHINATOWN

Located in the same alley as Chinatown market is a scene of murals showing scene of Chinatown

This mural is sponsored by Nippon Paint

Opera in Chinatown


24 CANTONESE OPERA
Artist: Yip Yew Chong
Location: JUNCTION OF TEMPLE STREET AND SOUTH BRIDGE ROAD
NEAREST MRT : CHINATOWN

Chinese Opera

Cantonese Opera was once a popular entertainment in pre-TV days. From fancy costumes to painted faces, these wayang plays are probably the first 'musicals' to hit Singapore. While they may disappear from today's entertainment scene, their popularity is beautifully captured by Yip Yew Chong.

Wayang


MOHAMED ALI  LANe

 25 DReams of Chinatown-PAPER MASK AND PUPPET SELLER / THE WINDOW / LION DANCE HEAD MAKER / MAMAK STORE
Artist: Yip Yew Chong
Location: SIDe WALL OF HOUSE 227 SOUTH BRIDGE RD ALONG MOHAMED ALI LANE
NEAREST MRT : CHINATOWN

Dreams of Chinatown

There is a set of three different murals painted on the same street. On the top left is 'The Window', a scene depicting the Kadir family and the Lee family, owners of the Mamakshop and the lion dance head maker below them. These are all inspired by real people who once ply their trade in Chinatown.

MamakShop
The Adul Kadik 'Mamak Store' is inspired by an actual store in Sago Lane. The Lion Dance Maker Shop is also based on a shop at No 2 Ann Siang Hill in the 1980s.

Paper Mask and Puppet Seller Yeo Ban Kok


The last set shows a colourful cart selling traditional paper masks and puppets that were once popular in Chinatown. The man in the photo is Mr Yeo Ban Kok, who hand-crafted the paper faces and paddled them all over Singapore.


This is how he looked in person.


Mosque Street

26 Porcelain
Location: Side of Porcelain Hotel
NEAREST MRT : CHINATOWN


This mural is painted on the side of the Porcelain Hotel at 48 Mosque Street. It is a blue and white mural that resembles designs normally found on porcelain. It is another modern interpretation of Street Art in Chinatown.


DUXTON

27 Ikan Todak (2022)
Artist: Tobyato
Location: 38 Duxton Hill Entrance from Tg Pagar Road
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT

Painted on the side of 38 Duxton Hill. This modern mural pays homage to a Singapore Malay tale of the battle of the local villagers and swordfish. It is located about 300m away from Buddha Tooth Relic.


28 UNKNOWN
Location: JUNCTION OF DUXTON ROAD AND NEIL ROAD
Nearest MRT: MAXWELL MRT



This odd painting shows ancient Chinese ladies carrying ipads, branded Chael Bags and laptops.

29 THIAN HOCK KENG MURAL
Location:  AMoy Street
Nearest MRT: TELOK AYER MRT



This mural depicts the early days of modern Singapore. It spans the whole back wall of Thian Hock Keng temple.

You can see different facades of life in one intriguing mural.


There are still a couple of Murals that need to be added to this list. Once I hunt them down, I will update this list. In the meantime, if you are looking for more murals, check out our list on Katong-Joo Chiat Street Art here









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