District 02 - Tanjong Pagar, Chinatown

District 02 spans the Central Business District covering Anson Road, Neil Road, Shenton Way and Tanjong Pagar. High-rise building offices, apartment blocks and commercial buildings line the busy roads.

History

On Anson Road stands Anson Centre, a commercial and residential tower built in 1971. In the 1990s, Springleaf Tower was built Anson Road near Parsi Road and Prince Edward Road. It is a 37-storey office and service apartment complex. The International Plaza, another commercial and residential building, was built in the 1970s and it houses a number of employment agencies within. It underwent a facelift in the 1980s and was given a glass façade. Formerly known as the IBM Towers, Fuji Xerox Towers is one of the landmarks on the four roads – Tanjong Pagar Road, Bernam Street, Keppel Road and Anson Road. Other famous buildings on Anson Road include Anson House, Apex Tower, Temasek Tower and M Hotel (previously known as the Copthorne Harbour View Hotel).

Tanjong Pagar Road was gazetted under the government’s conservation plan in the mid-1980s. After the completion of the conservation project, the shophouses were restored to their quaint pre-WWII façade. Even though the shops feature a distinct historic look, the fusion of new and old creates an extraordinary shopping experience, giving visitors the best of both worlds.

Neil Road starts at the junction of South Bridge Road, Maxwell Road and Tanjong Pagar Road and ends at Jalan Bukit Merah. At the end of the road is a conservation area of shophouses and a three-storey Victorian style school building which was the former site of Fairfield Methodist Girls’ School.

Shenton Way was named after Sir Shenton Thomas, Governor of Singapore 1934-1946. It was built almost entirely on reclaimed land which was previously known as Telok Ayer Basin. Dubbed as Singapore Wall Street, it was officially inaugurated in the year 1951.

Dining

Tanjong Pagar Plaza is the name of the complex that was built over the pre-war shophouses along Tanjong Pagar Road. The food centre is reputable for its tantalizing local delights such as nasi lemak and fish soup. Also located nearby is the Maxwell Food Centre, a fresh food market and food centre since pre-war days. Converted into a food centre in 1986, it offers a variety of local hawker fare. The current hawker centre was renovated in 2001. Most of the hawkers are from the Cantonese neighbourhood in China Street. Authentic local fare such as hum chim peng (crusty fried pancake), ngor hiang (Hokkien meat roll) and home-brewed herbal broths can be found in this food joint.

Shopping

Shenton Way is a great place for shoppers, it is a shoppers’ paradise with countless bargains leaving you spoilt for choice. Both Clifford Centre and The Arcade house a maze of specialty and souvenir shops.

Transportation

Connect to Orchard Road and other parts of Singapore through the Chinatown MRT Station, Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, Raffles Place MRT Station and Outram Park MRT Station.