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BiblioAsia

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Discover stories from across our collection

1169 articles

Latex brought to a factory to make rubber, c. 1920. Rubber was Malaya’s chief staple export, and the value of Singapore’s rubber exports declined by 84 percent between 1929 and 1932 during the Great Depression. Lim Kheng Chye Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore (Media - Image No. 19980005883 - 0001)

29 June 2026

Singapore’s Experience of the Great Depression

Topics

History

When the Great Depression struck, Singapore’s trade-dependent economy faltered, tin and rubber prices plummeted, businesses closed and people faced immense hardship.

Article

A Tang Dynasty City in Singapore: Flying Swordsmen, Terracotta Warriors and Pagodas

26 June 2026

A Tang Dynasty City in Singapore: Flying Swordsmen, Terracotta Warriors and Pagodas

Topics

History

A film studio and theme park in Jurong opened to grand fanfare in 1992. Named Tang Dynasty City, it was modelled after the ancient city of Chang’an. Despite its underground terracotta warriors and other attractions, it struggled to draw visitors, as Senior Librarian Lim Tin Seng tells us.

Podcast

Director's Note (July 2026)

22 May 2026

Director's Note (July 2026)

Volume 22, Issue 2

Article

Jul–Sep 2026

22 May 2026

Jul-Sep 2026

The forgotten terracotta warriors of Jurong and other stories in BiblioAsia Volume 22, Issue 2

Issue

Teawares and tea accessories at Tea Chapter, 2026. Photo by Ng Yun Ling.

18 May 2026

The Perfect Brew: Singapore’s Chinese Tea Culture

Topics

Culture

Food

Singapore’s Chinese tea heritage tells a story where traditional practices, community and adaptive innovation have shaped an evolving yet enduring cultural legacy.

Article

The coat of arms of the Colony of Singapore in the Colony of Singapore Annual Report 1952. Image reproduced from Flags and Coats of Arms of Singapore (n.p.: n.p., 1933–65). Collection of the National Library Singapore (Accession no. B34448861E; call no. RRARE 959.5703 BLA).

18 May 2026

The Lions of the Lion City: How Heraldry Shaped Singapore’s Identity

Topics

History

In Singapore, a creature that never lived on the island became one of its most recognisable symbols – moving from legend and empire into national identity. This paradox opens a complex symbolic history in which heraldry is not mere ornament, but a visual archive of power.

Article

Kindred Waters: Stories of the Jinjiang Coolie Community in Singapore. By Toh Lam Huat, Peng Lee Er and Lim Jen Erh. Singapore Chin Kang Huay Kuan (2025), 173 pages Call no. RSING 305.895105957 KIN.

8 May 2026

New Books on Singapore History (July 2026)

Topics

Collection Highlights

Check out the new books in National Library Singapore.

Article

Otters in Singapore. Photo by Max Khoo.

6 May 2026

Should Otters Get a Singapore Passport?

Topics

Nature

In a BiblioAsia Podcast episode, editor-in-chief Jimmy Yap interviews environmental historian Timothy P. Barnard, who tells us how migrant animals such as otters came to be in Singapore and what makes them Singaporean.

Article

Sketch of Changi Prison titled “From the End of DIII Corridor the Outer World Was Visible” by William Haxworth, 1942. Haxworth was the Chief Investigator of the War Risks Insurance Department of the Singapore Treasury when war broke out. He was interned first in Changi Prison and then in Sime Road Internment Camp. W.R.M. Haxworth Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore (Media - Image No. 20060000330 - 0094).

29 April 2026

Musical Evenings in Changi Internment Camp

Topics

Arts

Places and Buildings

In the early months of the Japanese Occupation, a music-loving Japanese camp commander played a supporting role in musical activities that became a source of comfort and solace for the civilian internees.

Article

Replicas such as the Wild Goose Pagoda and Zhao Zhou Bridge were central to the park’s efforts to recreate the aesthetic of Chang’an, 1994. Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore (Media - Image no. 19990001380 - 0059).

22 April 2026

An Ancient Chinese City in Jurong

Topics

History

Places and Buildings

Flying swordsmen, terracotta warriors and famous TV stars once captivated visitors at the former Tang Dynasty City.

Article