Inside the dying art of Chinese signboard making: meet the 2 men keeping the traditional craft alive in Singapore

Yong Gallery, operated by two woodworkers and calligraphers in their seventies, is the only traditional Chinese signboard business left in Singapore

Chinese boards are crafted by hand, and the duo who make them believe it is the imperfections of their work that set them apart from modern, factory-made signs

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Traditional signboards are common in Singapore’s Chinatown. The dying art of Chinese signboard making is being kept alive in the city state by two men. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Published: 1:15pm, 2 Jan 2023Updated: 5:09pm, 2 Jan 2023

They once cloaked the streets of Singapore, hanging above the entrances to Chinese temples, businesses, schools, homes and clan associations.

Featuring calligraphy carved into camphor or teak wood, Chinese signboards were a good-luck charm, an icon of Singaporean culture – and a lucrative source of income for the artisans who made them.

Now, however, there is only one traditional signboard business left in Singapore, according to the city’s Heritage Board.

Yong Gallery is operated by woodworkers and calligraphers Yong Cheong Thye, 76, and Cheh Kai Hon, 72. When it opened, in 1986, signboard making was a thriving industry, but the market has since been flooded by far cheaper, factory-made signage.

Calligraphy brushes – tools of the Chinese signboard maker’s trade. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Yong and Cheh recently invited the Post into their bright studio in Singapore’s Chinatown to witness their skill and learn the history of this fading trade. Tourists are welcome if they make an appointment through the Yong Gallery website.