That OCBC China Building coin bank we had

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As children, we never quite knew what to make of the 8 to 0‑inch hard‑plastic coin bank our father brought home to our Bedok kampong house. It felt too precious to use, and its narrow slot seemed to prefer dollar notes anyway. What captivated us, though, was its design — a miniature Chinese-style building with remarkably intricate moulding. We would hold it up, turning it in our hands, simply admiring the craftsmanship.

Only much later did we realise what we had been looking at all along: a model of the original OCBC building on Chulia Street, then known as the China Building — the very site where the OCBC headquarters we believe now stands.



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