In late colonial Singapore, North Bridge Road and the surrounding streets were home to many bookshops of all shapes and sizes. Among these bookshops, the more famous include Popular Book Company (established as Cheng Hing Company in 1924), Shanghai Book Company (established 1925, closed in 2008), and Nanyang Book Company (established 1935, closed in 1963). Many Chinese bookshops found a home in present-day Bras Basah Complex, also located on North Bridge Road, right next to the National Library Building.
Much-loved bookshops nearby on Bras Basah Road that have closed include Modern Book Store and S.S. Mubaruk & Bros. They primarily served the students that attended schools located there such as Raffles Institution and Saint Joseph's Institution.
In addition to the Chinese bookshops of North Bridge Road, there were a great many Malay bookshops and print presses on the eastern end of North Bridge Road, where Kampong Gelam is located. Here there was Royal Press (established in 1924), as well as the bookshops Haji Hashim (established 1922) and Maktabah Marie (established 1938, closed 1980s). And there were bookshops here even a century before that. Indeed, there have been bookshops in Kampong Gelam from the 1880s to the present day.
North Bridge Road is also the place where several contemporary bookshops began operations, but later moved elsewhere. These include Grassroots Book Room (now at Bukit Pasoh Road), City Book Room (now at Joo Chiat Road), and Wardah Books (now at Bussorah Street).
The Route: Start at City Hall MRT Station
For this crawl to the Book City of Singapore and beyond, take the MRT to City Hall station.
Take the exit to Raffles City and walk towards the junction of Bras Basah Road and North Bridge Road. Walk along the Raffles Hotel Arcade towards Bras Basah Complex.
Bras Basah Complex
Completed in 1980 by the Housing and Development Board, Bras Basah Complex is an open building that comprises five floors of shops and offices, and two blocks for residential use. Originally built for the primary purpose of housing bookshops, today the complex is home to shops that serve not just the reading community, but also musicians, hobbyists, artists and their patrons. Of the bookshops here, four are participating in Indie Bookshop Day. These are: Basheer Graphic Books, Union Book Co, Maha Yuyi, and Hungry Traveller Bookstore. Basheer Graphic Books and Maha Yu Yi have the distinction of being recognised by the National Heritage Board as Heritage Businesses, in recognition of their significance to Singapore culture and history. Other bookshops in this complex include Popular Bookstore, Evernew Book Store, Book Point, Seng Yew Book Store, and Tecman.
The Bras Basah Complex Merchants' Association organises annual book fairs and musical concerts to celebrate the building’s deep legacy in Xinyao, a genre of Singapore Chinese songs popularised in the 1980s and 1990s.
Once you enter the complex, we recommend touring the bookshops from top to bottom. This means either taking the lift or the central escalator to the fourth floor to reach Basheer Graphic Books. Spanning three shop units, this bookshop is a sanctuary for designers, architects, photographers, planners, artists and everyone in between. Moreover, their collection of hard-to-find magazines outside the shop is a real boon for those looking for something off the beaten path. Basheer is an essential bookshop for anyone in the creative industry, and patrons often have lifelong attachments to the bookshop, cultivating their own libraries of books that prioritise design and the thinking behind design. As niche bookshops go, Basheer is truly one of a kind.
Next, take the escalator down to the third floor and head towards Union Book Co. The lit sign on bare concrete is hard to miss. Founded in 1952, Union has a significant place in the history of postwar Chinese politics, language development, and literature in Singapore. From its earliest days, it was set up to distribute literary magazines such as the Chinese Union Weekly (中国学生週报) and later Chao Foon (蕉风). Inside the open-plan bookshop you can see books everywhere you turn, ranging from academic works and reference manuals, to comics and children’s books. At last count, this bookshop sells and distributes over 30,000 titles from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore.
When you exit Union, turn left and walk towards the National Library building. Head to the end of the corridor to reach Maha Yuyi. This is another Chinese bookshop that is absolutely packed with books. The bookshop operates in three connected yet distinct spaces: the main bookshop, the gaily decorated children’s bookshop just to the left of the back door of the main bookshop, and an event space downstairs accessed via a staircase within the shop. A little bit of trivia: the logo of this family-run company is in the shape of a stamp because the bookshop used to sell stamps.
After Maha YuYi, use the central escalator to get back to the ground floor. At this point you may want some refreshment at one of the cafes on the ground floor. You can head to Toast Box which is located in the former bookshop Music Book Room. In honour of this well-loved bookshop, the cafe owners have left the iconic green signboard of the bookshop in place and have created a music-themed menu. Another cafe that seems to tap into Bras Basah Complex’s literary heritage is Narrative Coffee Stand, also on the ground floor, facing Bain Street.
After you are sufficiently rehydrated, head to Hungry Traveller Bookstore. It is located near the Cashin Street side of the building. Hungry Traveller is a vintage and antiquarian bookshop specialising in culinary and travel works. The shop itself looks like it was transported from another time and place, with its leather-bound volumes, old maps, and plethora of gastronomic ephemera. Some of the books here are centuries old, and the bookshop’s curation has won a place in the hearts of vintage book collectors in Singapore.
When you leave the Hungry Traveller Bookstore, head out to North Bridge Road and walk past the National Library Building and hike towards Sultan Mosque — you can barely make out its gold dome from here. When the mosque is in sight, you will be in the heritage precinct of Kampong Gelam, the last bit of this bookshop crawl.
From North Bridge Road, turn right into Arab Street and after a few hundred metres, turn left into Muscat Street. Here you will see a giant mural by the side of a shophouse depicting scenes of Kampong Gelam’s past. A few steps into Muscat Street, and you will see Tarik, the go-to joint in Kampong Gelam for iced teh tarik and spiced teh zaffran.
From here, turn into Bussorah Street (a paved pedestrian mall) and walk midway down the street to reach 58 Bussorah Street, the building that houses two bookshops: Wardah Books and Nurul Anwar Bookstore. A century ago, the building was the premises of Maktabah al-Tahdir, a Malay bookshop run by a family of Islamic scholars. Today, Wardah Books occupies the building’s two floors while Nurul Anwar is located in a room upstairs. Wardah specialises in English books on Islam and the Muslim world, ranging from translated religious texts to works on contemporary politics. The bookshop frequently hosts events such as book clubs, book launches, and discussions.
Nurul Anwar’s books are in Malay, with a focus on Islam in the Nusantara. Alongside the books for sale is a selection of antique books in Jawi for readers to peruse. Since it set up shop in Bussorah Street, Nurul Anwar has, over the years, steadily increased its range to include Malay literary works both classical and contemporary.
Enjoy the rest of the day in Kampong Gelam, perhaps by exploring the hip Haji Lane and Bali Lane or explore the textiles and scents of Arab Street.
