Fuk Tak Chi Museum
While wandering around Chinatown taking photos, I spotted this place, which stood out from the usual shophouses and more modern architecture. Interesting, classic Chinese architecture right in the middle of other buildings and just the sort of thing to draw me in, given my interest in architecture and history.
Crossing the street, I checked out the signage, interesting; this used to be a temple and was converted to a museum in 1994.
After my visit, I did some googling on the history and found a good introduction on the chinatown.sg website.
Set up between 1820 and 1824 by Cantonese and Hakka immigrants, the shrine dedicated to the Chinese deity, Tua Pek Kong, was where many Chinese immigrants gave thanks for their safe journey to Singapore. As donations poured in, the temple was built in brick in 1825. The temple later became the headquarters for the Cantonese and Hakka communities, even functioning as a welfare association where disputes were settled.
To preserve the building's colourful history, it was handed over to the government in 1990. Craftsmen from China and Malaysia restored it completely, giving it a new lease on life as a museum in 1998. The Fuk Tak Chi Museum is now part of a charming boutique hotel's premises.
While progress has caught up, the museum hasn't given up the ghost. If you're in the vicinity of Far East Square, this quaint building is worth a visit. Step over its well-preserved threshold, and the hustle-and-bustle of office life disappears, making it a nice spot for quiet contemplation amid the area's shophouses and office buildings.
Before moving on, one thing about the above information is that it looks like it's been translated from another language and does contain English errors, which I chose not to correct.
Heading inside, it was very open with a stunning bronze sculpture in a small courtyard, which after some digging is called Street Hawker created by Lee Yun Hong back in 1999.
Behind the sculpture was a very detailed model showing a diorama of early Chinese immigrants arriving at Telok Ayer, one of the five districts of Chinatown.
Some Trivia: Telok Ayer was once on the Singapore coastline, which all changed in 1887 with the Telok Ayer Reclamation.
The above is a crop from the full shot. The display case is very reflective, which makes it interesting to shoot any good photos through, so this one has had some serious quality time with Photoshop.
Finally, behind the diorama was another model, this time a classic Chinese Junk boat, which I assume represents those used by early immigrants to journey to Singapore.
Final thoughts on this visit: well, not too much to see, but what there is is worth it for me. So if you are in the area, it's worth a visit, especially if you are interested in architecture and history.