Once a landmark of Orchard Road, the C K Tang departmental store was named after the owner Tang Choon Keng, a Teochew businessman. He started as a door-to-door peddler, selling handmade Swatow lace and embroidery. After decades of hard work, he built the C. K. Tang Departmental Store. The building was modelled after the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City in Beijing, featuring green-tiled roofs that sloped and upturned at the corners.
