Chinese visitors using Amap now have a new Singapore-specific discovery layer built around local experiences rather than a single generic “top attractions” list. The Singapore Street Stars rankings launched on 18 September 2026 as part of Amap’s partnership with STB, bringing together seven themes designed to match different travel moods — from photo stops and family outings to nightlife, nature and neighbourhood life.
The launch matters most to travellers from China who already use Amap for maps, search and transport services. It also gives Singapore attractions, restaurants, hotels and retailers another way to appear while those travellers are deciding where to go.
This is the first international edition of Amap Street Stars developed with a national tourism board. It follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Amap and STB in Beijing on 2 June 2026 covering trip discovery, planning and on-the-ground services.
01 · What Singapore Street Stars actually is
Street Stars is a set of curated rankings inside Amap. For Singapore, the new edition spans 104 places of interest across seven themed lists. Amap says the rankings are informed by user preferences and are intended to surface both famous landmarks and less obvious local finds.
That mix is important. The examples released at launch include headline attractions such as Gardens by the Bay, Merlion Park and Sentosa Island, but also neighbourhood and food stops including Joo Chiat Road, Haji Lane, Maxwell Food Centre and Tiong Bahru Market.
02 · The seven rankings are more useful than one giant list
A themed structure is a better fit for actual trip planning than a single numbered ranking. A family with young children, a food-focused couple and a first-time visitor hunting skyline photos are not solving the same problem.
The new categories let travellers start with the kind of day they want, then work backwards to places that fit. “Local Life, Real Finds”, for example, naturally points towards neighbourhoods and markets, while “Photo-Perfect Spots” is more likely to suit a short first visit built around recognisable Singapore scenes.
Travellers should still treat any ranking as a discovery tool rather than an official verdict on the “best” places in Singapore. The partnership gives the lists tourism-board context, but the rankings remain part of Amap’s platform and its user-preference ecosystem.
03 · Flying Street View adds a visual preview
Alongside the rankings, Amap is piloting Flying Street View at selected Singapore attractions. The feature uses 360-degree panoramic imagery so users can preview an attraction and its surroundings before deciding whether it fits their route.
The first announced locations include Merlion Park, Sentosa Island, Universal Studios Singapore, Gardens by the Bay, Singapore Zoo and Jewel Changi Airport, plus selected restaurants and hotels in the rankings.
For practical planning, this could be especially useful for understanding how a place sits within a wider precinct. A traveller comparing an evening at Marina Bay with a Sentosa day, for example, can get more visual context before committing time to the trip across town.
04 · What Chinese travellers can do inside Amap in Singapore
The partnership goes beyond rankings. Amap says travellers in Singapore can search for places of interest in Chinese through the app and access transport services including airport transfers, pre-arranged car services and on-demand rides through local operators.
The app also includes translation features intended to help communication with drivers and supports commonly used Chinese mobile payment methods. Those tools are aimed at reducing some of the friction that can appear after arrival, particularly for travellers who prefer to plan and transact in Chinese.
Availability, operators and prices can change, so transport bookings should still be checked live in the app rather than treated as fixed services.
05 · Why Singapore is getting this treatment now
Amap says its own platform data showed a sharp rise in Singapore interest during the 2026 summer travel season. Compared with June 2026, the average daily number of users searching for Singapore-related content increased by 52.3%.
Within that activity, Amap reported attraction searches up 91.2%, shopping-related searches up 87.4% and dining queries up 70.9%. These are Amap platform figures, not whole-of-market Singapore tourism statistics, but they help explain why the company and STB are investing in a more localised discovery product.
Mainland China is also one of Singapore’s most important visitor markets. STB reported 3.1 million visitors from Mainland China in 2025, the largest single source market that year.
06 · A sensible way to use Street Stars
If you already use Amap, the new rankings are most useful as a shortlist generator. Start with one theme that matches the day you want, save a handful of places, then group them geographically rather than trying to chase every highly ranked pin.
- First visit: combine one or two iconic places with a neighbourhood or food-market pick.
- Family day: begin with the family-focused ranking, then check travel time and opening hours before locking in the route.
- Repeat visit: use “Local Life, Real Finds” or “Curated Finds” to get beyond the standard Marina Bay–Sentosa loop.
- Short stopover: use Flying Street View and Chinese-language search to eliminate places that are too far apart for your available time.
Singapore is compact, but crossing the city repeatedly still wastes holiday time. A good ranking helps only if the final itinerary respects geography.
07 · There is a business side to the launch too
Singapore Street Stars is not only a traveller tool. Amap says featured restaurants, hotels and retailers gain visibility with Chinese users while those users are researching and building itineraries.
The company plans to promote themed content and curated routes around peak Chinese travel periods including Golden Week. That means the rankings may become particularly visible when outbound travel demand is highest.
For travellers, the useful takeaway is simple: expect the product to evolve. Rankings, promoted routes and participating places can change, so the live app is the source to check when you are actually planning.
08 · Sources and verification
This report was fresh-checked on 19 September 2026 against the launch material and current STB tourism data:
- Amap / PR Newswire Asia — Singapore Street Stars launch, published 18 Sep 2026, confirming the seven rankings, 104 places, partnership, search-demand figures, Flying Street View pilot and in-app traveller services.
- Singapore Tourism Board — 2025 tourism performance, confirming Mainland China as Singapore’s largest visitor source market in 2025 with 3.1 million arrivals.
Checked: 19 Sep 2026. Rankings, participating businesses, transport services and app features can change; verify the live Amap listing before relying on a specific place or service.