Little Guilin
Encyclopedia
Bukit Gombak
Bukit Gombak is a neighbourhood in the west-central area of the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore. In the Malay language, bukit means hill and gombak a bunch or collection of something....
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It is a popular visitor attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
due to its similarity to the scenery of Guilin
Guilin
Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Etymology and history
Also known as Xiao Guilin among the locals, the Little Guilin looks similar to that of GuilinGuilin
Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
- a granite rock sitting within a lake. It was originally a disused granite quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
. In fact, the name "Bukit Batok" has been suggested to be derived from the noise made by the blasting in the granite quarry that now form the natural surroundings of Little Guilin.
Together with Bukit Batok Town Park and the neighbouring Bukit Batok Nature Park, it occupies 77 ha of land in the planning area of Bukit Batok. It encompasses Bukit Gombak
Bukit Gombak
Bukit Gombak is a neighbourhood in the west-central area of the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore. In the Malay language, bukit means hill and gombak a bunch or collection of something....
, Hong Kah, Brickworks, Hillview
Hillview
-Places:United States*Hillview, Illinois*Hillview, Kentucky*The Hillview, a historical building in Hollywood, CaliforniaCanada*Hillview, Newfoundland and LabradorIreland*Hillview, WaterfordSingapore*Hillview, Singapore-Education:...
, and also Bukit Batok itself. Before being designated as a park, in 1984, the Housing and Development Board had originally intended to fill the quarry up and build a road on it. However, it was converted to a pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
instead when it was realized that the existing quarry had rugged granite outcrops and a contrasting backdrop of green hills that gave it a pleasant look. Soon, the surrounding areas were also beautified and made accessible by placing granite blocks on the retaining walls and adding footpaths, lights and seating.
In 1996, the Urban Redevelopment Authority
Urban Redevelopment Authority
The Urban Redevelopment Authority is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Singapore Government.-Mission:The authority was established on 1 April 1974, and is of especially critical importance to the city-state,...
(URA) conceptualised the Development Plan Guide for Yishun
Yishun
Yishun, or Nee Soon as it was initially named, is a suburban town in the northern part of Singapore, encompassing the Yishun Planning Area, in the North Region, which includes Yishun New Town and the Nee Soon private residential estate....
and Bukit Batok, which proposed the use of the surrounding parks to enhance the residential landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
for the area. It also proposed links between the Town Park and Nature Parks, and eventually linking them via park connectors to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is a small 1.64 square kilometer nature reserve near the geographic centre of the city-state of Singapore, located on the slopes of Bukit Timah Hill, Singapore's highest hill standing at a height of 163.63 metres, and parts of the surrounding area...
and Sungei Pandan.
Park
The Little Guilin Park has a narrow strip of land and occupies 42 haHectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
, well-landscaped and provided with footpaths. This park is popular with shutterbugs and wedding couples, and is lit from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am.
It is located in Bukit Gombak
Bukit Gombak
Bukit Gombak is a neighbourhood in the west-central area of the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore. In the Malay language, bukit means hill and gombak a bunch or collection of something....
, at Bukit Batok East Avenue 5, and is a 5 minutes walk from Bukit Gombak MRT Station
Bukit Gombak MRT Station
Bukit Batok North MRT Station ' is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit station on the North South Line in Singapore. The station was opened on 10 March 1990. It was part of the Branch Line before the opening of the Woodlands Extension on 10 February 1996...
. Besides being used for exercise and walks, the town park has also been used as a stage for Chinese opera
Chinese opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama and musical theatre in China with roots going back as far as the third century CE...
, dance and music performances such as the Heroine of the Water Margin. The park has also been suggested as an alternative destination for tourists wishing to see a different side of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
Bukit Gombak Trail
Part of the Little Guilin Park, the Bukit Gombak Trail was created through the national Parks Board's Adopt-A-Park Scheme with the former Sembawang-Hong Kah Community Development Council and Bukit Gombak Community Club Youth Executive committee in 1999. It was a nature walk through the park, with directional signposts located at several points. According to the National Parks BoardNational Parks Board
The National Parks Board is a statutory board of the Singapore Government.The National Parks Board is responsible for providing and enhancing the greenery of Singapore. NParks manages around 300 parks, the park connector network and the roadside greenery in Singapore...
, these lookout points offered magnificent aerial perspectives of the lake and a bird's eye view of the surrounding estate.
In 2007, following landslides, the National Parks Board permanently closed the trail.
See also
- List of parks in Singapore
- Bukit Batok
- Bukit GombakBukit GombakBukit Gombak is a neighbourhood in the west-central area of the Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore. In the Malay language, bukit means hill and gombak a bunch or collection of something....
- Bukit Gombak MRT StationBukit Gombak MRT StationBukit Batok North MRT Station ' is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit station on the North South Line in Singapore. The station was opened on 10 March 1990. It was part of the Branch Line before the opening of the Woodlands Extension on 10 February 1996...