1. DOCUMENTATION OF CHINESE GARDEN, SINGAPORE
Table of Contents:
1. Map, Location, Boundaries and Surrounding Area
2. Map of Garden
3. Sights:
1. West Entrance and White Rainbow Bridge
2. Garden Courtyard
3. Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum
4. Confucius Statue
5. Dragon and Phoenix Court
6. Twin Pagodas and 7 Storey Pagoda
7. Stone Boat
8. Tea House Pavilion
9. Bamboo Garden
10. Bonsai Garden
11. 8 Heroes
12. Garden of Abundance
13. Flowers and Plants and Others
4. People
5. What the Place is Used as
6. Rent of Facilities Rates
7. Reference List
2. 1. Map, Location, Boundaries and Surrounding Area
Chinese Garden is a garden in Singapore and is also commonly known as Jurong
Gardens. It is located in Jurong East and is a five-minute walk from Chinese Garden MRT
Station. The garden was built in an effort to introduce greenery to the industrializing
landscape of Jurong. The garden is surrounded by water from Jurong Lake and entrance to
the garden is via bridges. Admission is free and it is open from 6 am to 11 pm daily.
Address: 1 Chinese Garden Road, Singapore 619795
Tel: 6268 5363
3. 2. Map of Garden
The Chinese Garden was built in 1975 and designed by an architect from Taiwan, Professor
Yuen-chen Yu, who modelled the garden to the northern Chinese imperial style of
architecture and landscaping, specifically the Sung Dynasty Period. The 13.5 hectares has
been revitalized over the year with new features added like the Bonsai Garden and the
Fragrance Garden (not illustrated on map).
4. 3. Sights:
1. White Rainbow Bridge, East Entrance and Bridge to Japanese Garden
The main entrance is connected by the White Rainbow Bridge, the east entrance
which exits towards Chinese Garden MRT Station is connected by a red-coloured bridge
and another entrance, which is connected to the Japanese Garden, is connected by a
stone bridge.
5. The east entrance was specially constructed in conjunction with the Chinese Garden
MRT station for increased accessibility. The red colour of the bridge symbolises fortune
and good luck in Chinese culture and the two stone marble lions at that entrance
symbolises authority. There is also a guardhouse situated there.
6. 2. Garden Courtyard
During my two recent visits to Chinese Gardens, the Garden Courtyard was
closed off for renovation. The garden courtyard is situated within the Main Arch
Building which is across the bridge of the main entrance (refer to Garden Map). This
area is typically popular for picture-taking because of it's grandiose form. Below is a
picture of the Main Arch Building from the outside.
Picture credit to juronglakerun.com
7. 3. Fishes' Paradise
The Koi symbolises success through hard work. A Chinese folklore tells of a koi
which, with determination, swam up the T'ung Kuang Rapids and was transformed into a
heroic dragon.
Visitors are allowed to feed the Koi with provided fish food from 1-1.30pm daily.
8. 4. Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum
The Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum holds over 1000 turtles and tortoises of
more than 50 different species. It holds the Guinness World Record of the largest
collection of turtles and tortoises (The Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum, 2009). Some of
the highlights are the Snapping Turtle, Snake necked Turtle, Pig-nosed Turtle,the world's
third largest tortoise and even a six legged tortoise.
Visitors are allowed to feed the animals with fresh vegetables and food pellets
provided. There is also a petting corner for the tamer species of turtles and tortoises,
with Soft Shells and Terrapins allowed to roam freely through the park. Guided tours are
available to those who request for it.
Apart from live specimens, the museum also collects and displays objects
inspired by turtles and tortoises. In addition to that, the museum also rehabilitates and
rescues abused and neglected pets (Timeout Singapore, 2011).
Admission fee of SGD$3 applies for children and SGD$5 for adults.
9.
10.
11. 5. Confucius Statue
There are two Confucius statues at the Chinese Garden. One located outside the Main
Arch Building and the other is amongst the 8 Heroes ensemble.
Confucius was born in 551 B.C. And he was a thinker, philosopher, political figure,
educator and founder of the Ru school of Chinese thought (Wison, 2002). His influence
is wide-spread and Singapore's education system includes the history and teachings of
Confucius. Confucianism, which are his views on life and the world is regraded by some
as a religion. After Confucius' death, his teachings were compiled as 'Analects of
Confucius'.
12. 6. Dragon and Phoenix Court
This is a wide-open area of 1200 square meters which can be rented out to host events. It
is non-sheltered and costs $500 per day to utilize. Rates of other spaces available for rent
is included in the Rent of Facilities Rates available on page .
13. 7. Twin Pagodas and 7 Storey Pagoda
Pagodas are originally a religious tower built near a temple and commonly used by
Buddhists for keeping human bones (Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2011). Later on,
the pagoda was incorporated with the traditional art of building and developed into a
symbolic architecture (Kieschnick, 2002).
The seven storey pagoda, also known as 'Ru Yun Ta' is built on a small hill. This
structure is very prominent and can be seen from anywhere in the garden. The spiralling
staircase up rewards you with a panoramic view of the estate. Although the pagodas in
this Chinese Garden are not for religious functions, at the time of visit both the seven
storey pagoda and the twin pagodas were closed from public access.
A view from the top of the tower can be seen by visiting this site:
http://www.singaporevr.com/vrs/chinese_gardens/pagoda_view.html
14. 8. Stone Boat
'Yao-Yueh Fang' (the Stone Boat) is based on an adaptation of the Peking style design. It
is a lakeside pavilion which has a base of stone imitated to look like a boat. The solid
stone base indicated that the dynasty was not to be overthrown, attributed to Wei Zheng,
a chancellor in the Tang Dynasty who said to the emperor “the waters that float the boat
can also swallow it”, which implies that people can support the emperor but can also
topple him.
It is a two-storey structure however, the room leading to the staircase going up was
locked.
15. 9. Tea House Pavilion
The Tea House Pavilion is located opposite the Stone Boat and modelled after the
gallery at the Summer Palace in Beijing. The area is a wide vacant space and is an
essential component of a Chinese garden as it is used as a resting place to contemplate
nature. Visitors commonly use it as a picnic or gathering space as it is also equipped
with a soft-drink machine.
16. 10. Bamboo Green
On both my visits, there were children running about this area. There are seats for
resting and it is a cosy spot for resting or a picnic.
17. 11. Bonsai Garden
The Bonsai is miniature nature in a pot, or also called 'pen jing' in Chinese.
Opened in 1992, the 5800-square-meter garden houses over 2000 bonsais and cost over
$3.8 million to build. The Bonsai Garden is open from 9am to 5pm daily.
18. 12. 8 Heroes
Unveiled by Prime Minsiter Goh Chok Tong on 18th September 1991, the eight
sculptures of Chinese legendary heroes depicts basic moral values honesty, loyalty to
country, righteousness, modesty, love, filial piety, courtesy and love. The sculptures are
about eight feet tall and were originally placed in Marina City Park before being re-
located to the Chinese Gardens on 15th January 2007.
The eight sculptures were donated as a gift to Singapore on it's 25th anniversary by Tee
Yih Jia Group. The organization is a Singapore International Company which hold
strong Asian values and is a leading frozen foods manufacturer exporting more than 90%
of it's food products worldwide.
Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at the unveiling at Engraving at the base of each statue
Marina City Park
21. 13. Garden of Abundance
Sculptures of Chinese zodiac animals and small bridges and stone benches reside here.
The 12 zodiac signs is associated with certain characteristics. They are the Rat, Ox,
Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig (Lau, 2005).
28. 4. People
I visited the site twice, once during noon and another during the late afternoon. Majority of
the people found at the site are between the ages of 10 to 60 years old. Children below the
age of 15 were usually accompanied by family. Most people found there were generally
foreigners, meaning tourists or are of non-Singaporean nationalities. There were quite a
number of people working there as the landscape needs to be constantly maintained. Those
workers are typically males, foreign workers and between the ages of 25 to 45 years old.
The site attracted visitors of both the female and male genders equally.
The garden is a quiet tranquil place with not a lot of visitors.
5. What the Place is Used as
The Chinese Garden is used as a site for:
• Social activities like gatherings and family picnics. Also used as a spot for couples to go
on dates.
• Interaction with nature in terms of plants such as bonsais and animals such as turtles,
tortoises, birds and insects. The site is also used as a site for interaction as annual events
like the Lantern Festival are held there.
• Machine of ethnicity relating to the Chinese ethnicity.
• Machine of ideology. Elements such as religion and tradition is obvious from the
architecture of pagodas to information displayed regarding Buddhism and Confucianism.
• Machine of media as it conveys certain moral, educational and national messages.
• Machine of finance. The site generates income from renting out spaces for filming and
events. To a lesser extent, income is generated from the sale of soft-drinks from the
vending machines and fee charged to visitors who buy food to feed the fishes and turtles
and tortoises.
29. 6. Rent of Facilities Rates
Facility Description and Location Capacity Rental Rates (w/o GST)
$100 per day (1 to 5 days)
Filming (for commercial use and non-
NA $500 one-time payment (6
Mediacorp filming only)
days to 1 month)
Photo-Taking (for commercial use
NA $100 per day
only)
280 sqm
Non-sheltered hard court
Main Arch Plaza & Main Arch Lobby 250 pax standing capacity $200 per day
15 dinner tables
30 cocktail tables
60 sqm
Sheltered deck
Main Arch Fishers' Paradise 50 pax standing capacity $150 per day
4 dinner tables
12 cocktail tables
400 sqm
Non-sheltered hard court
Main Arch Garden Courtyard 300 pax standing capacity $300 per day
30 dinner tables
40 cocktail tables
1200 sqm
Non-sheltered hard court
Dragon & Phoenix Court 1200 pax standing capacity $500 per day
100 dinner tables
160 cocktail tables
120 sqm
Sheltered deck
Stoneboat Ground Floor 100 pax standing capacity $200 per day
9 dinner tables
20 cocktail tables
199 sqm
Air-con facilities
Stoneboat 2nd Level $400 per day
50 pax standing capacity
6 dinner tables
248 sqm
Open deck 200 pax standing
Stoneboat Promenade capacity $200 per day
16 dinner tables
25 cocktail tables
550 sqm
Open hard court
Confucius Terrace 500 pax standing capacity $300 per day
30 dinner tables
48 cocktail tables
Bamboo Garden 570 sqm $300 per day
Open hard court
450 pax standing capacity
30. 35 dinner tables
50 cocktail tables
264 sqm
Open deck
Moonlight Terrace 200 pax standing capacity $200 per day
16 dinner tables
25 cocktail tables
222 sqm
Sheltered deck
Teahouse Pavilions 50 pax standing capacity $300 per day
9 dinner tables
14 cocktail tables
229 sqm
Open hard court
Bamboo Plaza 150 pax standing capacity $200 per day
15 dinner tables
24 cocktail tables
600 sqm
Bonsai Garden (Right/Left Garden Open garden
$300 per day
without Main Hall & Souvenir Shop) 150 pax standing capacity
40 cocktail tables
226 sqm
Air-con facilities
Bonsai Garden Main Hall $400 per day
50 pax standing capacity
20 cocktail tables
To be determined when there
30 pax standing capacity is an interested party to rent
Bonsai Garden Souvenir Shop
10 dinner tables the premises on a tenancy
basis
1000 sqm
Open garden
Garden of Abundance 300 pax standing capacity $500 per day
20 dinner tables
30 cocktail tables
800 sqm
Multi-Purpose Grounds Open hard court $200 per day
300 pax standing capacity
Entire Chinese Garden 13 ha $15,000 per day
If you require any information or would like to rent any of these facilities,
please call the JTC Contact Centre Hotline at 1800-568 7000.
31. Reference List:
Chinese Garden history. Accessed of December 6th 2011. (http://www.juronglakerun.com/chinese-
garden)
Space Rental Rates. Accessed of December 6th 2011. (http://www.jtc.gov.sg/Pages/Facilities-
Chinese-Garden.aspx)
The Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum. Accessed of December 6th 2011. (http://www.turtle-
tortoise.com/template.jsp?pg=home)
Timeout Singapore, (2011). The Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum. Accessed on December 6th 2011
(http://www.timeoutsingapore.com/aroundtown/venues/museums/live-turtle-and-tortoise-museum)
Wilson, T. A. (2002) On Sacred Grounds: Culture, Society, and the Formation of the Cult of
Confucius. Cambrdige: Harvard
