Things To Do In Chinatown: 20 Murals & All the Must-Sees

Start: Maxwell MRT Exit 3 | End: Maxwell MRT Exit 2

This is the ultimate Chinatown walking trail, covering 20 murals and every essential stop in the district.

I love these murals because they tell the story of the traditions and daily lives that shaped this city. To me, there is no better way for a visitor to truly understand our city’s roots.

To save you time, I’ve pinpointed the exact location of every mural on a map. You’ll see the best street art while exploring Chinatown’s heritage streets and food centers.

Map data © OneMap by Singapore Land Authority

The trail begins at Maxwell MRT Exit 3 and concludes at Maxwell MRT Exit 2. This is a list of murals that you will uncover during this comprehensive Chinatown Trail walk:

Beyond the murals, this route is strategically planned so you can experience these heritage places and hawker centres:

Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery
Chinatown Hawker Centre
Buddha Tooth Relic Temple
Chinatown Heritage Centre
Sri Mariamman Temple
Maxwell Food Centre

Starting Point: Maxwell MRT Station Exit 3

Arrive via the Thomson-East Coast Line (TE18) and head to Exit 3.

As you come up to the surface, you’ll see a HDB (public housing) on your right, go down the short flight of stairs and walk along Kreta Ayer Road to bring you right to the start of the mural trail.

I recommend this specific path because it allows you to see the heritage shophouses that line this charming street. This same street is a popular route for local Vespa sidecar tours, which travel along this stretch as part of their heritage tour which I mentioned in my other post.

Stop 1. Everybody is Kungfu Fighting

Located near the foot of the long flight of stairs leading up to Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre, this mural by Belinda Low captures the energy of traditional martial arts. This scene serves as a tribute to the cultural performances that historically defined the Kreta Ayer area.

Stop 2. Little Guilin

Along the long flight of stairs is the Little Guilin by Belinda Low. The artwork depicts Bukit Batok Town Park, a former granite quarry in Singapore known as “Little Guilin” because its rock formations resemble those in Guilin, China.

Stop 3. Labour of Love

At the top of the stairs, you will find more murals by Belinda Low.

These include Tai Chi Uncle, Ageing Gracefully, The Path to Peace and Serenity, The Way We Were, and Chess Mates. Together, these paintings show the daily lives of the neighborhood’s elderly residents. The scenes capture morning exercise routines and the quiet ways the older generation spends their time.

Grandma & I and The Window: The mural by Belinda Low shows her late grandmother standing at a window with a young Belinda by her side. It is a quiet portrait of the woman who also helped raised her. Painted in soft, shadowy colors, the scene captures a simple moment of two generations watching the world go by together.

Kreta Ayer Heritage Gallery

Tucked inside the Kreta Ayer Community Club at 30 Kreta Ayer Road, I feel this gallery complements the mural trail. It focuses on the cultural soul of Chinatown—things like Chinese opera, puppetry and calligraphy. It uses community-donated objects and old photographs to trace how these art forms evolved from the early migrant days to now.

It’s a small gallery and entrance is free. It’s opened from Tuesday to Sunday, 10am–6pm. Closed on Mondays and only open on weekends during school term period.

Stop 4. Keong Saik Rd Murals

These contemporary murals are a highlight of Keong Saik Road, adding a splash of modern energy and vibrancy to the street, a living canvas where traditional heritage meets modern chic.

I haven’t been able to identify the specific artist(s) behind these works yet—if you happen to know or find out who they are, please leave a comment below so I can give them proper credit! Regardless of who held the brush, these pieces are a “must-see” for anyone exploring the neighbourhood.

Stop 5. National Day (2022)

Further along Keong Saik Road, this signature vibrant works by Belinda Low celebrates Singapore’s early independence and the “kampung spirit”. It features nostalgic scenes of community celebrations and children playing, designed to preserve and honour Singapore’s heritage.

Stop 6. It’s Satay Time

This mural shows a traditional Singapore scene: a Malay satay seller in a white baju and kopiah cooking over a charcoal grill. The open background of the sea and sky appears to make reference to the old “Satay Club” stalls that were located along the Esplanade and Beach Road until the 1990s. The satay man is a recurring figure in Belinda Low’s work and serves as a symbol of old Singapore street food culture.

Stop 7. Bridge Over Calm Waters & The Back Lane

There are 2 murals here which celebrates both the resilience of the human spirit and the warmth of traditional family life.

Bridge Over Calm Waters: This piece pays tribute to those who remain steady and courageous during life’s most difficult challenges. It features a tranquil lake where an elderly couple watches a group of nine koi fish, a number chosen to represent permanence and endurance. The turtle and the koi symbolise longevity, prosperity and harmony.

The Back Lane: The scene captures a family preparing for the Lunar New Year, featuring a grandmother teaching her grandchildren the tradition of pasting “Fu” (good luck) symbols on the wall. Nearby, the grandfather adds to the festive atmosphere by playing the erhu, a traditional Chinese string instrument.

It is interesting how these bicycles just blend into the artwork or is it the artwork blending with the bicycles. Whichever it is, it looks just great!

Stop 8. Welcome to Our World

This is one of Belinda Low’s most famous works. Located at Block 5, Banda Street, it features a striking depiction of a Samsui woman. A powerful portrait capturing the resilience of the women who lived through Singapore’s early years of independence.

Look for the two orchids in the mural. These were added as a special tribute in remembrance of Singapore’s founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his wife.

Who were the Samsui women?
They came from Sanshui district in Guangdong, southern China — “Samsui” being the Cantonese pronunciation, meaning “three waters.” Between the 1920s and 1940s, they emigrated to Singapore driven by economic hardship, digging holes, carrying building materials, and mixing cement alongside men. They earned 50 to 60 cents a day, lived in shared cubicles above Chinatown shophouses, and sent most of what they earned back to family in China. Many took a vow of chastity and supported themselves entirely through manual labour.

They’re recognisable in their dark blue or black samfoo paired with their trademark red headscarf, the hong tou jin (红头巾) — bright enough to reduce accident risks on construction sites and handy for storing cigarettes, matches, and money.

The generation is now gone. These heritage murals are the last visible reminders of women who are no longer here to speak for themselves.

Stop 9. The Cool Dude

The next mural is located at the second level, climb that very same flight of stairs where the mural “Welcome to Our World” is.

The central figure in this mural by Belinda Low is a coolie, an unskilled laborer from the 19th and early 20th century. These immigrants primarily came from Southern China and India to find work in construction, ports and as rickshaw pullers. Belinda Low’s title, “The Cool Dude,” is a deliberate way to show the man with dignity rather than just as a laborer. Like the Samsui women, these men were resilient workers whose labour helped build the foundation of Singapore.

Stop 10. Bruce Lee Mural

You’ll find martial arts legend Bruce Lee making a surprising appearance on the walls of Chinatown Complex but with a distinctly Singaporean twist. This cheeky mural was actually painted by students from the School of Design at Temasek Polytechnic, who chose to blend global pop culture with quirky local elements.

Bruce Lee is depicted holding an iconic durian in one hand and his nunchucks in another. It is a fun, lighthearted stop that perfectly captures how modern Singaporean culture reimagines its heritage.

The project was part of the National Environment Agency (NEA) and National Heritage Board (NHB)’s Our Hawker Centres – A Heritage & Art Project initiative in 2015, celebrating Singapore’s hawker culture and neighbourhood heritage.

Chinatown Complex Hawker Centre

And since you’re well-positioned to enter Chinatown Complex Hawker Centre, it’s time to refuel. This is one of the largest hawker centres in Singapore. It was originally built in 1983 to house the itinerant street hawkers who used to line the roads of Chinatown. Today, it houses over 200 stalls across multiple levels, including a wet market in the basement and retail shops on the first floor.

Since this trail ends at Maxwell Food Centre, I recommend having your main meal here and saving room for local desserts once you reach Maxwell.

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple

Though it looks ancient, this Tang-style temple was actually completed in 2007. It’s named after what is believed to be the left canine tooth of the Buddha, housed in a massive 320kg gold stupa on the fourth floor. The architecture was meticulously designed to fit the historic Chinatown landscape, avoiding “contemporary” styles that would have felt out of place.

About Smith Street: After leaving the temple, head toward Smith Street. Named after Governor Sir Cecil Clementi Smith, this street transformed from a 1900s red-light district into a cultural hub centered around the Lai Chun Yuen Cantonese opera house. It later became a famous site for itinerant street hawkers until they were moved into the Chinatown Complex in 1983.

Stop 11. Detective Conan in Chinatown

From here forth, you’ll notice that the artistic style and expressions are different because majority of the murals are by Yip Yew Chong.

This mural shows the famous Japanese detective trying Singapore’s “smelly” durians, a popular bridge between modern manga and traditional market life.

Stop 10. My Chinatown Home (我家牛车水)

This is the artist’s most intimate work, depicting his childhood home at Sago Lane. It is rich with specific memories: his grandmother sewing a patchwork blanket, siblings playing “aeroplane chess” and his mother frying New Year sticky cake.

Stop 11. Letter Writer (寫信佬 . 妙手揮春)

This was the first mural the artist painted with his children. It depicts the letter writers who helped illiterate migrants write letters home to China. These writers also doubled as calligraphers for Chinese New Year couplets.

Stop 12. Mid-Autumn Festival

Captures a family reunion under the glow of lanterns, emphasizing the cultural importance of filial piety and the Mooncake Festival.

Stop 13. Chinatown Mural

I haven’t been able to identify the specific artist or the official name but the colourful painting alone makes it pop-out.

Chinatown Heritage Centre

Located in three beautifully restored shophouses on Pagoda Street, this is perhaps the most immersive museum in the area. It features meticulously recreated living quarters from the 1950s, showing the cramped conditions of Samsui women, coolies, and medical practitioners. Walking through the narrow hallways and seeing the tiny bunk spaces makes the history feel much more real. It’s a sobering but necessary look at the grit required to build the Singapore we see today.

Stop 14. Chinatown Market (Dreams of Chinatown)

This three-story mural took Yip Yew Chong 24 days to paint. It is a “whimsical” reimagining of the 1970s/80s. Look for the traditional kopitiam, a shop selling snakes and monitor lizards on the ground floor, and a larger-than-life uncle pouring tea on the third floor.

Stop 15. The Old Clogmaker & Kitchenware Shop

This mural sits behind the real shop Lau Choy Seng, established in 1948. It records the transition from wooden clogs (popular for wet markets) to rubber sandals in the 1980s. It’s good to know that the kitchenware business survives today through the third generation.

Stop 16. Cantonese Opera (做大戏)

A self-funded project by the artist that doubled as a fundraiser for the Community Chest. It captures the dazzling costumes and “backstage” hustle the artist remembered from his childhood visits to Chinatown operas with his aunt. It includes intricate details of mobile food vendors that once fed the opera spectators. It includes intricate details of the mobile food vendors, such as the “Rojak man,” who once fed the opera spectators. I particularly love the meticulous details the artist included throughout the scene and the wonderful sense of playfulness captured in the young boys.

Sri Mariamman Temple

Gazetted as a National Monument, Singapore’s oldest Hindu temple was founded in 1827 by Naraina Pillai — a government clerk who arrived in Singapore with Stamford Raffles in 1819. In its early years, the temple served as a registry of marriages and provided shelter for new Indian immigrants arriving with little and knowing no one. The fact that it sits in the middle of Chinatown is not a contradiction. It’s a vivid, colourful reminder of the multi-racial harmony that has always existed here. It adds a layer of diversity to the trail that makes the “Old Singapore” story feel complete.

Stop 17. Paper Mask, Mamashop & Lion Dance Headmaker

Located at Mohamed Ali Lane, this mural beautifully illustrates the harmony of old Chinatown, where multi-racial tenant families co-lived within single shophouse units. The scene specifically features the Kadir family and their Mamashop alongside the Lee family, who were renowned lion dance headmakers. While you explore the details, try to spot the yellow toy tortoise—a sentimental inclusion representing a childhood gift the artist once received from a co-tenant.

I personally find these mural scenes so whimsical and colorful; they are truly a joy to study. The more I walk this trail to uncover Yip Yew Chong’s work, the more endearing his storytelling becomes. Unfortunately, this brings us to his final mural on our journey, as the next stop features a different artistic voice.

Stop 18. Samsui Woman at Rest

Last but not least, the final stop on our trail, is a three-story masterpiece painted by artist Sean Dunston. Unlike many other depictions that show these “founding mothers” in their later years, Dunston’s work portrays a young Samsui woman in her prime. She is shown in a moment of rare leisure, seated and holding a cigarette—a detail that sparked significant national debate regarding heritage and public art.

Following the public controversy, the authorities allowed the mural to remain untouched in its original form. Today, it stands as a bold tribute to the strength, youth, and authentic history of the women who helped build our skyline.

Maxwell Food Centre

Originally opened in 1928 as Maxwell Market — a wet market — it was converted into a food centre in 1987 and has been around for close to a century — through the Japanese Occupation, through urban renewal, through several waves of renovation.

This hawker centre is well known for Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice — made famous by Anthony Bourdain — the queue is always long but it moves quite fast. However, if you already had your meal in Chinatown Complex Hawker Centre, you should now try the local desserts, there’s chendol, ice kacang or soya beancurd to name a few.

Final Stop: Maxwell MRT Station Exit 2

Once you’ve had your fill of history (and food!), simply head towards Exit 2 of Maxwell MRT Station to catch your train to your next destination.

However, if you aren’t quite ready for the day to end, you are perfectly placed to explore Tanjong Pagar which offers a completely different vibe. It’s a place where you can go on a heritage walk to admire Peranakan shophouses and the next, head up a skyscraper for a breathtaking panoramic view of the city. I’ve even included a stop where you can see what a local HDB (public housing) estate looks like up close. But don’t worry, I already have it all planned for you, check out my detailed and complete guide to Tanjong Pagar here.