# The River Merchants

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Canonical page: https://mytuur.com/en/city/singapore/spot/the-river-merchants/

Content updated: 2026-06-22

The River Merchants stands along the Singapore River, directly before Maybank Tower, as a bronze sculpture by Singaporean artist Aw Tee Hong. Two groups recreate the river’s nineteenth-century trading activity in vivid detail.

Alexander Laurie Johnston mediates between a Malay chief and a Chinese trader on one side. Johnston founded A. L. Johnston & Co. here in 1820, at Tanjong Tangkap, the nearest godown to the river mouth. Across the sculpture, Chinese and Indian labourers load sacks onto a bullock cart, recalling the work that kept river trade moving.

The scene brings merchants, traders and labourers together around one cart.

- City: [Singapore](https://mytuur.com/en/city/singapore/)

## Photos

- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_TheRiverMerchants_67863b49ebe7a333a72188d3_0.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_River_Merchants_\(2003\)_by_Aw_Tee_Hong,_Cavenagh_Bridge,_Singapore_-_20230617.jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_TheRiverMerchants_67863b49ebe7a333a72188d3_1.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Singapore_River_12-05-2024\(4\).jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_TheRiverMerchants_67863b49ebe7a333a72188d3_2.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Singapore_River_-_panoramio_\(20\).jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_TheRiverMerchants_67863b49ebe7a333a72188d3_3.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Views_of_Singapore_River_09-11-2023\(26\).jpg)
- ![](https://mytuur-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com/image_TheRiverMerchants_67863b49ebe7a333a72188d3_4.jpg) — [Image: wikimedia](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Singapore_River_12-05-2024\(6\).jpg)

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