Like southern Malaysia, Singapore, an island city-state, is a global financial centre with an equatorial climate and multicultural group. Its colonial hub centres on the Padang, a cricket range since the 1830s, now flanked by luxurious buildings such as City Hall, with its 18 Corinthian columns. In Singapore’s circa-1820 Chinatown stands the red-and-gold Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, said to house one Buddha’s teeth.