The tongkang is typically a flat-bottomed barge mainly used to transport goods. These general-purpose cargo boats measure approximately 50 to 90 feet from stem head to stern post, with a beam of 16 to 23 feet and a depth amidships of 8 to 10 feet. A family built their wooden house on the tongkang when there was no proper housing arranged for the common people in pre-independence Singapore.
