Back in 1822, Sir Stamford Raffles set up a plan - immigrants of different races would live in race-segregated parts of Singapore so they could carry out their activities just like they did at home. Chinatown, of course, was where the Chinese of yesteryear lived. If you took a walk down Chinatown - Hokkien Street, for example - there in the day, you'd be sure to see trades and wares of all kinds - traders, businessmen, coolies, street hawkers, they were all there.
Back then, Sago Lane was known as 'Dead Man's Street' back then, with an array of Chinese 'death houses' along it - where dying people were left to their fate. Along the streets, funeral paraphernalia was commonly sold along with food for night visitors and mourners. This continued until the banning of death houses in 1961.
Chinatown then was truly a bustling hub for the Chinese, catering to all their needs from living to working to even death.
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