Perspective Journeys

Singapore tour: Dreams of a Sojourner

In 2006, the Chinese makeup 77% of Singapore population. They were descendent of early Chinese migrants from China.

How did the year 1860 changed demographics of Singapore and South East Asia?

Where did the early Chinese come from?

When did they arrive?

Why did they leave their homeland?

How was migrant's life like?

What where their hopes and dreams?

This tour traces Chinese migrants' social path upon their arrival in Singapore.

The places visited during the tour shows what life was like for Chinese migrants also known as the Chinese Diaspora, and how they made sense of their new environment. Emphasis is placed on the life of ordinary migrants, often the faceless and voiceless side of history.

The early migrants regarded China as home but many of them died in Singapore and in other countries without ever seeing their home or their loved ones again. We will look at reasons for their leaving China. 

Despite the difficult environment, some migrants achieved tremendous success.

We will visit the institutions they built to understand their social obligations and their relationship with society.

As migrants, they often existed in two worlds simultaneously; a physical world and a romantised cultural world representing home.

Events in one place generated reactions in the other.  Notions of home were strong and people were ready to give up economic interests to protect their “home”. However, home could be lost leading to a redefinition of self, notions of home and their new identity as citizens of Singapore.

Since Chinatown is the place where most Chinese migrants lived, one of the stops will be Chinatown. We will examine how migrants legacy is preserved or still present in modern Chinatown.

This tour offers an in depth perspective to lives of migrants and to understand complex notions of home among generations of migrants and how these developments left an imprint on collective memory of society.

This program can be a tour by itself or part of a tour to produce a personalized program to suit your interests.

For a list of other popular topics, please see: Tours / Topics

All Perspective Journeys programs are presented in non technical language (No complicated jargon!) and will take into account your background and interests.

Book a tour

If you are a travel agent or organizer, click here

If you have any queries or require further information, please write to: info@perspectivejourneys.com

Copyright © 2006-7 Perspective Journeys, All Rights Reserved. . .