Friday, March 25, 2011

Change and Continuity (Singapore River) Part 2

Past days:

Source taken from :,

Present Days:

No, we do not think that the shape course will change as the shape course has been the same for over a decade. There is not much improvements as both pictures above are filled with buildings along the Singapore river. If nothing is being done to it, it will stay the same as even if they want to expand, they cannot as there are many other buildings surrounding the river. However, if Singapore governments wants to reclaim part of the river landspace for future uses, the river will get smaller. The river eventually will reach the Marina Barrage. It will only change under circumstances such as natural disasters eg earthquake. Therefore, the river will also be a boat tour for tourists.

Panoramic Views of Singapore River

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Change and Continuity (Asian Civilisations Museum)

Chosen civilisation: China
  • How they deal with constraints: China has been facing a constraint of overpopulation, as learnt in Geography last year. It has caused a number of problems, such as lack of food and resources. To deal with it, the China Government have started the One-Child Policy since 1980. It is a policy that makes sure each couple only has one child, and it has its advantages and disadvantages.
Some advantages of this policy is that it help to curb China's
population drastically, enables enough resources to be given to everyone in the country, and parents can spend more of their time focused on one child.

Some disadvantages are that it causes gender imbalance (more males) and inferiority of females.
  • How they contribute to changes in Asia: Because of the huge population in China (still), a lot of them move to other parts of Asia to work and earn more money. This helps other Asian countries to build their buildings fasterand more efficiently, making Asia more urbanised and increase its economic growth. It also spread multi-racial and a variety of cultures and races around the Asian countries.

Artefact 1: Embroided Dragon Robe

  • The artefact, the Embroided Dragon Robe, evolved to the present day Chinese traditional dressing, such as the Cheongsum and Qipao. There are differences between the Embrioded Dragon Robe and the present day Cheongsum and Qipao:

Firstly, the Embroided Dragon Robe has more exaggerated designs, such as dragons.

Secondly, the Embrioded Dragon Robe has more variety of colours on it compared to the present day Chinese traditional dressing. Present day Cheongsum and Qipao usually only have two colours on it, whereas the Embrioded Dragon Robe has many.

Lastly, it has a different cutting and size. Present day dressing are smaller than the Embrioded Dragon Robe, in order to fit the person perfectly.

Artefact 2: Book (Text)

  • The way of writing Chinese characters during the ancient Chinese civilization has evolved lot to the present day Chinese text.

Firstly, the text used during the ancient Chinese civilization are written in what it is known now the Traditional Chinese. In Present day China, Traditional Chinese has evolved into Simplified Chinese, which is used in most places, including Singapore.

Secondly, during the time of the ancient Chinese civilization, the text is written from right to left. Nowadays, chinese text is written from the left to right.

Lastly, during the time of the ancient Chinese civilization, text is written vertically, from the top of the page to the bottom of the page. Currently, chinese characters are written horizontally, from the left to right.

Artefact 3: Tomb Guardians

  • Tomb Guardians were statues placed in the burial grounds of the deceased, as to ward off evil spirits and to ensure safe passageway from one world to the other. But the spiritual beliefs have changed:

Firstly, those deceased buried do not have tomb guardians, possibly because of the limited land space.

Secondly, most people are now cremated instead of being buried.

Lastly, tomb guardians were thought to help protect the decreased, but now, people burn things to ensure that the deceased have enough items with him/her when she reaches the next world.

Weiliang Nie. China's one-child policy - success or failure?. Retrieved from

Ruta Smithson. Chinese Tomb Guardian Figures on View at Princeton University Art Museum. Retrieved from

Change and Continuity (Singapore River) Part 1

1) Starting Point( Coleman Bridge)

Group Photo(Coleman Bridge)

2) During the journey(Coleman Bridge to Anderson Bridge)
Coleman Bridge and high-rise buildings

High-rise buildings and Cavenagh bridge

Shop houses, boats & restaurants

Activities that are carried out along the river during the early days and the present day.
Present days:
1) One inference we can infer about the activities in the present days carried out in the river are boat tours. From the picture beside this, there are many boats stationed at the quarry. These boats are boats hired for those tourists who wish to sightsee in Singapore. Therefore, people paid to get into the boat which will bring them across the whole Singapore river and explore the magnificent landmarks of Singapore along the river.

2) Another inference we can infer about the activities in the present days along the Singapore river is that many business companies are situated near the Singapore river. From the picture, there are many shop houses and high-rise buildings situated along the Singapore river. This is so why as Singapore River is situated near the Central Business District therefore many business activities are taking place near it.

3) The third inference we can infer is that there are entertainment along the Singapore river. There are dining restaurants and pubs along the Singapore river. Therefore the locals and the tourists can chill and hang out after sightseeing or shopping to have a sip or to eat at a luxurious restaurants facing the extravagant view of the river. It is also considered as a kind of entertainment for them.

Past Days:
1) One inference we can about the activities of the past is that Sir Stamford Raffles first landing point was at the foot of the Singapore river. As you can see in the picture, it has a statue of him in the same position where he first stepped in Singapore. Therefore, this statues is a memorial to Singaporeans on where Raffles first land his foot on Singapore.

2) Another inference we can infer is that in the past days, many trades are held along the Singapore river. In the past, Singapore is known as the trading port where traders from all over the world came to this port to trade in Singapore. As you can see in this picture, there is a stairs leading to the river and there is no barrier. In the past, they use to stairs as a connection to transport items from the quarry to land. It is also use as a mean for people to get into the boat and out of the boat during the past.

Ending Point(Anderson Bridge)

Scaled-Map of Singapore River

This is a Scaled Map of Singapore River, from Coleman Bridge to Anderson Bridge. We have labeled the historical landmarks and buildings in the Scaled Map. The map is scaled 1: 3000, which means 1 cm on the map is equivalent to 3000cm, which equals to 30m.

Historical Landmarks which our group identified along Singapore River.
1. Old Parliament House
2. Raffles Landing Site
3. Old Chinese Merchants' Houses
4. Boat Quay
5. Asian Civilization Museum

Google Map of Our Trail:

View Singapore River Trail by Casandra, Yanjin, Nadiah and Nur Nadiah in a larger map

Google Maps. Casandra Ong. Singapore River Trail(2011). Retrieved on the March 25, 2011 from Google Maps website:,103.852014&spn=0.001464,0.002411&z=19

This is a google map of our trail along the Singapore River.