Chulia Street is the name of a road in the Downtown Core area of Singapore that runs from an end of South Canal Road.[1] During colonial times, it was part of a settlement of the Chulias, a group of Indian Muslim workers from South India who inhabited the area.[2][3] It was also a popular tourist attraction due to the rows of two-storey Indian shophouses on either side of the road, which were all demolished in the early 1980s to make way for the industrial business developments in the area.[4] The current UOB Plaza and OCBC Centre were built along Chulia Street in the 1970s.[4][5] The only form of public transportation for the road is via the Raffles Place MRT station, which has exits located across the road.[1]
 The UOB Plaza Towers as seen from Chulia Street. | |
| Owner | Land Transport Authority (LTA) Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) |
|---|---|
| Maintained by | LTA |
| Nearest Mass Rapid Transit System station | Raffles Place MRT station |
| Other | |
| Known for | UOB Plaza |
Currently, Chulia Street is no longer a tourist destination and is part of the central business district of Singapore.[4] Before the industrialization, Chulia Street was a commercial hub for knife makers, as well as moneylender agencies.[2][6] Aside from mercantility, there are also places of worship located along Chulia Street. There is a Chinese temple, Yueh Hai Ching Temple, as well as a mosque, Masjid Moulana Mohamed Ali.[7] The latter is located underneath the UOB Plaza and was established there in 1994 to replace an older mosque affected by the demolition of the shophouses along Chulia Street.[8][9]
The name of Chulia Street dates back to 1921.[10] Before that, it was known as Kling Street, until Hafeezudin Sirajuddin Moonshi requested that the name of the road be changed to Chulia Street.[10][11]
See also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 "Chulia Street (Secondary Road)". www.streetdirectory.com. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
- 1 2 Peel, G.L. (31 October 2010). Rickshaw Reporter. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd. ISBN 9812616373.
- ↑ Raja Singam, S.D. (1939). Malayan Street Names: What They Mean and Whom They Commemorate (1st ed.). Ipoh, Perak: Mercantile Press. pp. 39–40.
- 1 2 3 Edwards, Norman; Keys, Peter (1988). Singapore: a Guide to Buildings, Streets, Places. Singapore: Times Books International. pp. 418–451. ISBN 9971652315.
- ↑ "DBS making climate adaptation a strategic priority, says its chief sustainability officer". The Straits Times. 2026-03-15. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
- ↑ Singapore 150 Years (1st ed.). Singapore: Times Books International. 1982.
- ↑ Pan, Xingnong (1993). Chao qiao su yuan ji (Chu ban ed.). River Edge, N.J: Ba fang wen hua qi ye gong si. ISBN 978-1-879771-05-5.
- ↑ "Moulana Mohamed Ali Mosque reopens at Raffles Place". The Straits Times. 2015-04-10. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
- ↑ Ong, Tanya (2014-09-08). "S'pore's only underground mosque located beneath one of the tallest buildings in the CBD". Mothership. Retrieved 2026-03-24.
- 1 2 "Municipal Notice: Change of Name to Kling Street". The Straits Times. 1921-08-01. p. 16.
- ↑ "Supplement containing subsidiary legislation". The Straits Settlements Government Gazette. 60. 1921.