Home / Architecture and Landscape

The Chinese Garden (Yu Hwa Yuan)

The Chinese Garden, located in Jurong, was built in 1975 as part of Jurong Town Corporation (JTC)'s plan to bring greenery to the industrial landscape of Jurong. The garden provides a peaceful refuge to Singaporeans who go there for walks amidst the landscaped grounds, take wedding photographs by its bridges and pagodas or to celebrate Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival. 

History
In the early 1970s, the landscape of Jurong was increasingly industrialised with the construction of factories and industries as part of the Jurong Town Corporation's industrialisation plan. Hence, JTC decided to redress this situation by damming the Jurong River and creating three small islands from the resulting lake. One of these islands became the grounds for the building of the Chinese Garden. A well-known Taiwanese architect, Prof Yuen-Chen Yu, was in charge of designing the garden, and in 1975, it opened to the public for the first time.

The 13.5 ha garden was designed and built based on classical northern Chinese imperial architectural style, specifically reminiscent of the Sung dynasty period (AD 960-1279). Key features of the garden included a few architectural reproductions based on Beijing's Summer Palace.

Over the years, the garden underwent a few changes. New features were added to it. For instance, in June 1992, a Suzhou-style Bonsai Garden, estimated at a cost of S$3.8 million, was opened. In 2001, as part of its revitalisation plans for the garden, JTC removed the garden's entrance fees and extended opening hours to 10:00 pm. In 2002, a Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum was opened.

Description
The main features of the garden include the Marble Stone Lions, the 13-Arch Rainbow Bridge, the Main Arch Building, the Stone Boat and Tea House, the Garden of Abundance, the Bonsai Garden, the Garden of Abundance, the Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum, a 7-storey pagoda and four Chinese pavilions.

Upon entering the garden, visitors are greeted by two marble stone lions at the main entrance. It is a Chinese belief that lions represent authority and felicity. Sculptured stone lions are often placed at entrance of buildings and temples as guardians of these places. The pair of stone lions at the Chinese Garden were sculptured from Taiwan-imported marble stone.

The main entrance leads to the 13-Arch Rainbow Bridge. Bridges are one of the characteristic features of Chinese gardens. The white 13-Arch Rainbow Bridge was built following the style of the 17-Arch Bridge of Beijing's Summer Palace.

Crossing the bridge, visitors will then enter the Main Arch Building of the garden. The Main Arch Building is a favourite spot for photograph-taking amongst visitors. Within the building lies two courtyards, the "Early Spring Courtyard" with jasmine and pomegranate trees and the "Garden Courtyard" with its miniature lakes and bridges, and a fish pond: the "Fishes Paradise".

Following this, comes the vast park area itself. Clusters of bamboo and willow, ficus trees and lotus ponds adorn the garden. Amidst this setting lie the Stone Boat and Tea House, the pagoda and the pavilions.

The Stone Boat and Tea House is representative of a famous traditional feature of Chinese architecture. The style of the Stone Boat is based on the Beijing style, with some adaptations to its design and materials used. The Tea House is a miniature structure following the style of the more elaborate, winding gallery of the Beijing Summer Palace.

Interspersed within the garden are the pavilions and the pagoda. The pavilion is an important component of Chinese gardens. The arrangement of the pavilion, with its plateau and tower is based on the principle of balance between height and size. There are altogether four pavilions found within the garden. A seven-storey pagoda reminiscent of the Ling Ku Temple Pagoda in Nanking is situated on a small hill in the garden.

The Bonsai Garden (Penjing Garden), a relatively new feature of the garden, was opened in 1992. Covering an area of 5,800 sq m, it houses over 2,000 bonsais imported from China and other parts of Asia. The two outside the Garden's entrance are said to come from Sichuan and to be over 280 years old.

Next is the Garden of Abundance. The unique feature of this attraction are the 100 year old Pomegranate trees from Shantung, China. There are also 12 Chinese Zodiac Animal sculptures, a sundial and stone bridges, all of which have meanings of longevity and abundance. Hence, the reason for its name.

The Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum was opened in 2002 by collector, Danny Tan, a 65 year old businessman. He contributed some 180 turtles of 54 species to the 185 sq m museum. The museum also exhibits over 3,000 turtle-related items collected by Tan and his daughter. One of the unusual live turtles on exhibit is a two-headed soft shell tortoise.

The Chinese Garden is noted for its Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. Since the late 1980s, it has been the place to go to for the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. Each year, visitors get to view lanterns brought in from different parts of China and cultural performances by Chinese cultural troupes. For instance, in 2001, over 2,000 silk lanterns were brought in from Suzhou, China, as the highlight of that year's Mid-Autumn Festival. In 2004, as part of its Chinese New Year celebrations, a collection of 16,800 coloured umbrellas went up on display at the garden.

The Chinese Garden (Yu Hwa Yuan), 1 Chinese Garden, Singapore 619795.



Author
Nureza Ahmad



References
Edwards, N., & Keys, P. (1988). Singapore: A guide to buildings, streets, places (p. 30). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: RSING 915.957 EDW) 

Eliot, J., & Bickersteth, J. (1999). Singapore handbook (pp. 142-143). UK: Footprint Handbooks. 
(Call no.: RSING 915.957045 ELI)

Fun Singapore: A leisure recreation and discovery guide (pp. 182-3). (2003). Singapore: Mighty Minds.
(Call no.: RSING 915.957 FUN)

Singapore (pp.187-188). (1992). Singapore: Sun Tree.
(Call no.: RSING 915.95704 S)

Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (1996). Singapore: Educational tourism guide (pp. 102-103). Singapore: Author.
(Call no.: RSING 915.95704 SIN)

Boo, K. (2001, November 10). Stroll the Chinese Garden by moonlight. The Straits Times. 

Lum, M. (2004, January 25). 5 things to do today. The Straits Times. 

Mcleod, M. (2003, June 13). Turtle collector shelling out $1.6m for bigger museum. The Straits Times.

Teo, G. (2002, May 31). Take a walk up S'pore's Hill of Fame. The Straits Times. 

Association of Singapore Attractions. (2002). Jurong Gardens. Retrieved April 2, 2004, from  www.singapore-attractions.com/juronggardens.htm  


Further Readings
Warren, W. (2000). Singapore: City of gardens (pp. 118-119). Hong Kong: Periplus Edition.
(Call no.: RSING 915.957 WAR)

Singapore Tourism Board. (2004). Chinese Garden. Retrieved April 2, 2004, from  www.visitsingapore.com/sections/articles/4d/1,1181,346,00.html 





Subject
Architecture and Landscape>>Streets and Places
Recreation>>Places of Interest
Parks--Singapore
Gardens, Chinese--Singapore
Singapore--History--1965-1990
Business, finance and industry>>Industry>>Leisure and entertainment