Destination SG: Chinese Garden

Attraction: Chinese Garden
Address: 1 Chinese Garden Road Singapore
Admission Fee: Free
Parts of Chinese Graden with fees:
* Garden of Abundance: 2SGD for Adults, 1 SGD for Children(3-12yrs old), 1SGD for Senior
Citizens (55 years and above)
* Live Turtle & Tortoise Museum SGD 5 adults, SGD 3 children (3 - 12 years)
Getting There: It's a 5 minute walk from the Chinese Garden MRT Station (EW25)

It was a gloomy day and the sky started pouring. I was late for our 10am meet up with Mark and Kay at the Chinese Garden MRT Station looking for my wallet. I arrived at 10:45 and gladly the rain had stopped. Kay, smiling and trying to fade the feeling of boredome, then gave me 2 buns of bread which they set aside for me knowing I haven't eaten my breakfast yet. Mark, Kay and her Japanese friend had been waiting for me for 45mins. Sorry guys! hehehe. So we then strolled our way inside the Chinese Garden!

The Chinese Garden was built in 1975 designed by Prof Yuen-chen Yu, a well-known architect from Taiwan. A signature architectural building of the Chinese is the pagoda, used in ancient times by Buddhists to keep human bones. The seven-storey pagoda “Ru Yun Ta” follows the style of Ling Ku Temple Pagoda in Nanjing.

Two traditional features of Chinese architecture are the “Yao-Yueh Fang” (Stone Boat) and the “Ming Hsiang Hsieh” (Tea House), the latter a miniature structure following the style of the elaborate, winding gallery at the Summer Palace.

Apart from buildings, gardens too are a constant motif in the Chinese Garden. Around the Chinese pavilion, plateau and tower are woven plants, rocks, a winding stream and footpaths, to create a harmonious scene. A Suzhou-style Bonsai Garden, built at a cost of SGD 3.8 million, houses some 1,000 bansais imported mostly from China. A Bonsai Training Centre will be launched with resident experts from Shanghai and Suzhou to teach visitors the delicate art of caring for bonsai.