This tour combines the history of Chinatown with its unique street art of over ten murals painted by famous Singaporean artist Yip Yew Chong who was born and raised in this neighbourhood.
Our tour will begin with a visit to the Thian Hock Keng Temple built in 1838 by Hokkien immigrants giving thanks to the goddess of the sea Mazu. We will then follow the artists' trail of murals spanning from 2016 until 2023 depicting customs and traditions as well as real people and family members (not to mention the cat…)
Our guide will share with us the stories related to each mural starting at the 44 meters long mural he painted on the back wall of the temple. We will continue towards South Bridge road to see three murals such as the Cantonese Opera and the Paper Mask Puppet Seller before we continue through the narrow streets of Chinatown to see his Chinatown home , the wet market and his recent Clog maker mural.
The artist was born on 12 January 1969 and worked as an accountant for many years while perusing his artistic career as a street artist in his free time. He is currently a fulltime artist and has recently launched his book " Art of Joy" and showcased his longest artwork of 60 meters canvas titled "I paint my Singapore – Familiar Scenes of Home" at the Raffles City Convention Centre.
Feel free to stay on for lunch afterwards at your own expense at the Chinatown Complex food Centre .
Meeting point – 137 Telok Ayer Street (nearest MRT stations: Tanjong Pagar & Telok Ayer)
Tour duration – 2.5 hours
photo credit: Aditi Gaitonde Fernandes/Honeycombers