Located next to the Central Business District, China Square is a harmonious blend of old and new developments. Taller, modern buildings are interspersed with conservation shophouses along South Bridge Road, Hokkien Street, Nankin Street, Chin Chew Street, China Street, Pekin Street, Amoy Street and Telok Ayer Street. The area was gazetted for conservation on 18 January 1997.
China Square was part of the original 19th century Chinese settlement that developed south of the Singapore River. It is as old as the rest of the greater Chinatown area known as ‘Tua Poh’ which means ‘Greater Town’ in Hokkien, and was one of the first areas in Singapore to be urbanised.
In 1824, Hakka and Cantonese immigrants built Fuk Tak Chi, the first temple in Singapore, along Telok Ayer Street which was the original shoreline. The temple was dedicated to the Chinese deity, Tua Pek Kong.
By the 1980s, a century of development, overcrowding and neglect had left the area in a woeful state. The area was thus planned for redevelopment by the State, after the residents and businesses had been resettled. In the redevelopment plans drawn up by the URA, about half of the pre-war buildings—about 200 units—were identified to be conserved. The remaining sites would undergo further intensification to accommodate the necessary commercial and physical infrastructure needed for this central location. After its redevelopment in the late 1990s and early 2000s in an innovative ‘old and new’ approach, the area is now known as ‘Far East Square’, ‘Capital Square’ and ‘China Square’.
The precinct’s shophouses are either two or three storeys tall, and range from the Transitional to the Art Deco styles and Early Modern styles, testifying to its growth over the past century.
Amongst the more notable buildings are the Fuk Tak Chi building, the former temple was restored in the 1998 redevelopment of part of the area and converted into Singapore’s first street museum. The termite-infested ceiling carvings at the entrance to the building were repaired with great care, and residents of Chinatown donated about 200 personal artefacts of old Chinatown for display.
The site also contains the original gateway of the former Chui Eng Free School at Amoy Street (established in 1854 by the Hokkien Huay Kuan, and endowed by Tan Kim Seng) which is one street behind the old shoreline of Telok Ayer Street, which was one of Singapore’s earliest Chinese Free Schools. The Hokkien-styled gateway was the entrance of the original school compound.
The overall China Square precinct is a successful example of optimising land use for modern business purposes while preserving the historical and architectural heritage of an area.