• Chin Chew Street connects China Street with South Bridge Road. Upper Chin Chew Street originally extended from South Bridge Road to the vicinity of present-day Hong Lim Complex.
• One explanation for the origin of the street’s official name is that “Chin Chew” originated from the dialect pronunciation of Quanzhou or Zhangzhou in China’s Fujian province. Another belief is that the street’s Mandarin name “珍珠街” came about because it was located near Pearl’s Hill (“珍珠山”).
• As there were many vendors making and selling beancurd at Upper Chin Chew Street in the early days, it was colloquially known in Chinese as “豆腐街” (literally, “beancurd street”).
• According to a 1836 Singapore map drawn by George Coleman, Chin Chew Street was already in existence at the time, while a map drawn by C.B. Buckley shows that Upper Chin Chew Street was built between 1830 and 1835.
• In the 1820s, this was a residential area for the Indian community. It later evolved into a Chinese residential area that was mainly inhabited by the Samsui women from Sanshui county in Guangdong province.
• Upper Chin Chew Street also came to be known as “黑布街” (literally, “black cloth street”) in reference to the Samsui women’s black or darkcoloured clothing.
• In the early days, Upper Chin Chew Street was a bustling street with restaurants, theatres, music halls and brothels.

Yeh Chih Yun lived for many years at the now defunct Upper Chin Chew Street before moving to 38 Mosque Street, where he subsequently passed away. (Lianhe Zaobao, 5/9/2019)