Chinatown = China Town?

Went to Chinatown this morning. Chinatown, despite retaining its Chinese cultural elements, is no longer the Chinatown that I used to visit. Singapore's Chinatown should be renamed as China Town. Whether it's Temple Street, Mosque Street or Smith Street, you will definitely spot a PRC man or woman, usually in pairs or groups.

Historically, the area is concentrated with the Chinese population, hence the name Chinatown. Over the years, Chinatown became more of a heritage site and tourist attraction. However, the "China invasion" seems to be back in the last five years thanks to the government's liberal immigration policy.

While I was at the hawker centre in Chinatown Complex for lunch, I swear I saw and heard at least thirty different Chinese nationals there. China slangs seemed to roar louder than the de facto dialect of Chinatown, Cantonese. Young faces of PRC appear to outnumber the old folks who have lived long enough to see Singapore transform into a first-world country.

Although stuff like Lim Chee Guan bak kwa, Er Gu Desserts and Outram Park Fried Kway Teow still exist and continue to make their presence felt in this neighbourhood, the emergence of stalls selling "non-Singapore Chinese food" makes me wonder if the Singaporean essence in Chinatown has started to reduce.

These stalls, which operate like a typical mixed vegetable rice stall but sell China dishes which locals are unfamiliar with, are always crowded with noisy and somewhat rowdy China people during lunch and dinner times. In the eyes of a Singaporean like myself, these stalls are nothing more than a little enclave in a large neighbourhood for these foreigners to feel at home.

If Chinatown wants to preserve its status as a heritage centre and tourist attraction, the "China revolution" that is slowly brewing in it has to be moderated. Only then will we locals, as well as travellers, be able to call it a place that possesses cultural and historical significance (of Singaporean Chinese).