Ryan's reflections

Ryan’s reflections

Before going on this trail, my impression was that Chinatown catered mainly to tourists rather than the locals. Thus, Chinatown became a place where my family and I visited only during the Chinese New Year to enjoy the festive atmosphere. I rarely, if ever, ventured out of the area around People’s Park Complex and the OG shopping complex. Thus, I was disappointed to receive Chinatown as our location, as I thought that less explored places like Joo Chiat or Balestier would be more ‘exciting’ to explore.

As we started the trail, I had apprehensions until our group stumbled upon a hidden park that I did not know existed so near to our modern city centre (Ann Siang Park). Even more surprisingly to me, this small, unassuming park had a rich historical significance. This discovery made me start becoming more and more curious about what is to come.

At this point, I started to view this heritage trail through the lens of a history student and a teacher-to-be. I then became acutely aware of how the official history of the area was framed through various means, such as through signboard descriptions and the exhibits at the Chinatown Heritage Museum. On one hand, I was surprised at how the official narrative was willing to disclose uncomfortable past of places, such as how Smith Street’s signboard focused on its past reputation as a red-light district in the early 1900s. The depictions of daily life in Singapore is also an unusual departure from the usual economic and top-down narrative of Singapore’s rise from rags to riches.

 

An example of the signs describing the significance of the streets around Chinatown

On the other hand, these depictions raised many questions for me. For instance, looking at how memories of the places only existed in words on the signboards but not in form, I felt that many of the historical places in Chinatown have lost their connections to the past. This led me to question whether Singapore could do more than simply using signboards to preserve its heritage for future generations to experience. Another question that came up for me was that despite the efforts to promote Chinatown’s rich heritage by the authorities, why are Singaporeans like me unaware or disinterested in exploring this heritage? These are some of the questions that I would like to explore as a History teacher-to-be.

An unexpected, but pleasant, addition to our heritage trail group was Germaine, Rachel’s younger sister. She mentioned how her school had conducted a heritage trail around the area and volunteered to be our guide for the day. As her school trail was conducted several months ago, the places that Germaine brought us to spoke volumes about how the narratives of these places resonated with her such that she can still remember them months later.

Germaine, Rachel's sister

Germaine’s presence also allowed me to experience this trail through the lens of younger children, which I discovered was very different from mine. For instance, Germaine appreciated more tactile experiences and interactive exhibits whereas I am more intrigued by the trail when I related what I saw to my existing knowledge about Singapore’s history. This insight is extremely useful for me when I am designing heritage trails for my younger students.

Overall, this heritage trail experience was an eye-opening experience for me. It challenged my long-held negative perception of Chinatown as a tourist trap and made me more curious to explore other places in Singapore in future as well. It also convinced me that heritage trails, when conducted properly, can be a powerful tool in the teaching of History. However, I am reminded by Germaine’s experience of the trail that it will be letting my students explore and discover the area themselves, rather than bringing then on a conventional guided tour, would create a more memorable and teachable experience. Thus, it would not be an exaggeration to say that I benefited tremendously from this heritage trail.

Of course, I did not forget to fun during the trail too!