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Tan Chay Yan contributed about $15,000 towards the building of the Straits and Federated Malay States Government Medical School’s Tan Teck Guan Annexe, which housed offices, a library, museum and lecture room. Named after Tan’s father, who had supported his education as a long-time trustee and benefactor of Malacca High School,  the annexe opened in 1911 and is today part of the Singapore General Hospital.

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The women were part of an initial group of some 2,000 women hailing mainly from the Sanshui district in Canton (Guangdong), arriving between 1934-1938 together with over 200,000 female Chinese immigrants in search of a better living. Most of these samsui women would go on to work as general labourers in the construction industry, and many would come to be characterised by the distinctive red headgear and blue or black samfoo they wore while taking on backbreaking work at construction sites across the island.

While the origins of samsui immigrants to Singapore dates back to as early as 1841, it was not until 1933 when the introduction of the Aliens Ordinance was introduced, that a distinct cap on Chinese Male Immigrants was enforced, paving the way for larger numbers of female immigrants to find work in Singapore.

Upon their arrival, most samsui women made their way to the Chinatown district between South Bridge Road and New Bridge Road where many fellow samsui migrants resided. They stayed in the many shophouses along the street, with at least four women sharing a single, often-spartan room.

A typical day of a samsumi women began at the break of dawn where they would have a simple meal before gathering to walk over to their respective construction sites. By 8am, they would be hard at work digging soil and earth, or carrying debris and other construction materials in buckets that hung from shoulder poles. Work usually ended at around 6pm, after which many s amsui women would gather together at the five-foot ways for a simple meal to end the day.

A trademark of samsui women was the red, sometimes blue, headdress that they wore while at work. The headdress was a square piece of cloth that was starched stiff before being folded into a square-shaped hat. The colour red was chosen, as it was distinctively eye-catching, thereby helping to reduce work-related incidences. The headdress also shielded the women from the sun and even provided a safe and convenient storage for cigarettes, matches and money.

On occasions of mourning, a blue headdress was worn in place of the traditional red, while it was also known that women from the Sun Yap area in China preferred to wear the blue instead of the red on a daily basis as well.

Most samsui women did not marry while in Singapore, not because they took a vow of celibacy, but because many either already had families back home or were beyond the ideal age of marriage by the time they started work. Those that did marry usually did so with fellow compatriots of the samsui community.

Many samsui women worked well into their 70s, which meant that they were also involved in creating modern landmarks like the Toa Payoh Estate and Bishan Station, part the very first stretch of MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) stations that opened to the public in 1987.
REMEMBERING THE SAMSUI WOMEN
Many see the endearing traits of the samsui women as a great representation of the Singapore story, and their efforts have been recognised in numerous national and artistic interpretations over the years.

When the first MRT Train took off on 7 November 1987 from Toa Payoh station, three samsui women who helped build the Bishan station were also invited along for the journey. Many National Day Parades have also included costumes and storylines related to the samsui women, including an honorary march-past by former samsui women at the 1980 edition.

Well-known artists like Chua Mia Tee, Lim Tze Peng and Georgette Chen have also painted numerous artworks depicting the lives of the samsui women over the years, while in a more modern setting, theatre productions like the Dim Sum Dollies - The History of Singapore Part 1 (2007) and the upcoming Samsui Women: One Brick at a Time (2015) by The Finger Players continue to remind audiences of the legacy of the samsui women.

Statues of samsui women can also be seen outside the URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority) building and the Chinatown Heritage Centre along Pagoda Street.

Yet perhaps the most endearing representation of the samsui women to Singaporeans is entrenched in the hugely popular 1986 SBC TV Series Samsui Woman (红头巾) that starred Zeng Huifen and the late Huang Wenyong.

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The samsui women were part of an initial group of some 2,000 women hailing mainly from the Sanshui district in Canton (Guangdong), arriving between 1934-1938 together with over 200,000 female Chinese immigrants in search of a better living. Most of these samsui women would go on to work as general labourers in the construction industry,...

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The source besides this post states that Tan Jiak Kim contributed to the formation of the King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore which was very significant. In 1905, a total sum of $87,000 was collected from the Chinese community, with Tan making a personal contribution of $12,000.  other philanthropists such as tan chay yan helped to build a medical school by donating money

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-https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_795_2005-01-18.html
-https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1136_2009-06-29.html#:~:text=Philanthropic contributions,a personal contribution of $12,000.
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https://lionraw.com/2015/08/18/the-samsui-women-of-singapore/#:~:text=Many samsui women worked well,to the public in 1987.
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https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1628_2009-12-31.html

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How their contributions benefited Singapore

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How their contributions benefited Singapore

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They benefited Singapore economically and socially by opening more trade for their jobs as labourers, helped build the buildings we have now in Singapore like schools to provide education for young Singaporeans. The source below includes chinese samsui women taking a break after doing back-breaking work at a construction site. This shows that chinese female migrants who came to Singapore helped to build more buildings and improve its economic development.

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What these immigrants brought to Singapore

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What these immigrants brought to Singapore

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Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore brought their help to Singapore by taking on jobs as labourers to do back-breaking tasks like unloading heavy trading goods and helping to construct buildings to contribute to Singapore's economic development.

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Which particular aspects have Chinese immigrants contributed to

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Which particular aspects have Chinese immigrants contributed to

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- Economically
-Socially

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How Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore contribute to the country.

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How Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore contribute to the country.

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What the impact of their contribution was on Singapore

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What the impact of their contribution was on Singapore

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The buildings that they built impacted the lives of the people in Singapore as they gave people more places to live in and take jobs at. This impacted the economic development of Singapore after increasing the job rates and selling houses. The source below shows a picture of the Toa Payoh Estate which the samsui women had built long ago. This shows that Chinese female immigrants who came to Singapore helped to build HDB flats for people to live in, and also other important places like shopping malls for people in the estate. They also helped to build the Bishan Station which was part of the first stretch of MRT stations that were opened to the public in 1987. The coolies helped to transport materials to the construction site their labour helped to raise Singapore's population and ecomomy

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Tan Jiak Kim (陈若锦) (b. 29 April 1859, Singapore–d. 22 October 1917, Singapore) was a prominent Straits-born Chinese (Peranakan) merchant and political activist in the early 19th century. He was an outstanding community leader who contributed significantly to the Straits Settlements community and don…

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From the source of your selected immigrant group and your research , do you observe any common thread in their contribution

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From the source of your selected immigrant group and your research , do you observe any common thread in their contribution

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The chinese immigrants that came to Singapore were either very rich or very poor. For the chinese immigrants that were in poverty, they all had to do back-breaking tasks. Whereas the rich chinese immigrants were all merchants that came to trade goods between the natives