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47-693: The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall , also known as Wan Qing Yuan , and formerly as the Sun Yat Sen Villa , is a two-story colonial style villa in Balestier , Singapore . The villa is now a museum commemorating Sun Yat Sen (1866–1925), the founding father of the Republic of China who visited Singapore nine times between 1900 and 1911. Located at 12 Tai Gin Road off Ah Hood Road in Balestier,

94-404: A Teochew charitable temple whose mission is the practice of compassion through the provision of free medical consultation, funeral services, and assistance to the poor and needy. The temple is also known for its tradition of setting up water and tea kiosks for thirsty passers-by at the junction of Boon Teck Road and Balestier Road since 1950s. In the 1940s, a film studio , Singapore Film Studios,

141-401: A food centre, the ceiling is too low to adequately contain the exhaust pipes which radiate heat throughout the interior of the place. Furthermore, as the roof is made of zinc, it conducts heat when it is exposed to direct sunlight, making it uncomfortable for customers to eat within the space, especially in the afternoon. The only way to access the front entrance into Balestier Market is through

188-546: A health breakdown after the deaths of his son and wife in 1844 and 1847, he sold his plantation to Singapore authorities and the land was leased out to Chinese farmers. Another portion was turned into a burial site for paupers and lepers . During the 19th century, many prisoners from India were sent to Singapore, where they were employed as labourers and builders. After serving their term, many of these convicts remained in Singapore as traders, artisans or skilled craftsmen. With

235-720: A home for his mistress Bin Chan, hence it was called "Bin Chan House". In 1902, Boey sold the villa for $ 10,800 to Lim Ah Siang (林亞相; 1866-1925), the towkay of a timber business in Johor and Singapore and the leader of the Teochew secret society Ngee Heng Kongsi. The building was constructed in a classical colonial style, featuring ornate arched windows and doors, eaves decorated with floral patterns, and movable louvred windows. In 1905, rubber magnate Teo Eng Hock (張永福; 1872–1957) bought

282-886: A house along Balestier Road purchased in 1903. The Chinese labourers, who settled in the area, built a temple in 1847 which still exists known as Goh Chor Tua Pek Kong Temple (梧槽大伯公廟) , with the area having one of the last free-standing wayang stage in Singapore that was built in 1906 by Tan Boo Liat , a wealthy Hokkien Peranakan philanthropist and community leader. Apart from the century-old Goh Chor Tua Pek Kong Temple (梧槽大伯公廟), Balestier area also consisted of various prominent temples including Balestier Kwan Im Tng Temple (坤德觀音堂), Leng Ern Jee (靈隱寺), Feeha Cheng Seah (飛霞精舍), Chan Chor Min Tong (陳佐勉堂), Tai Pei Yuen Temple (大悲院) along Jalan Kemaman and Burmese Buddhist Temple at Tai Gin Road. Thong Teck Sian Tong Lian Sin Sia Temple (同德善堂念心社),

329-522: A large diversity of people, different skills, culture, technics and practices were shared and exchange within Balestier. For instance, the nickname “Recreation Road” is made popular with the growth of many sporting and recreational buildings within the vicinity in 1920s. Other examples of names given in view of activities included the Cantonese names such as Wu-hap Thong was given to the Taro pond, which

376-570: A renovation, it ultimately still failed to compete with her "neighboring brother" because, during that period, most of the residential developments were situated around Whampoa Market. Meanwhile, Balestier was still in the phase of redevelopment into a commercial, industrial and private residential district, resulting in existing residents relocating elsewhere. Furthermore, after the upgrading, a handful of vendors decided to relocate or to discontinue their business resulting in patrons from Balestier Market shifting over to Whampoa Market instead. Consequently,

423-409: A repository of cultural elements. The most iconic feature of Balestier Market is its rows of pitched zinc roof which were later installed with lighting elements to make the roof structure prominent even at night. However, in the past, the roof design was built to shelter the wet market without considering its possibility to be converted into a food centre. After the transformation from a wet market into

470-413: Is home to many stallholders who were from markets which were either demolished, undergoing renovation or relocated. Many of these stallholders were from Upper Thomson's Long House and Lavender Food Square. Similarly to Balestier Market's resilience through the evolution of the Balestier area, these hawkers try their best to maintain their business operations despite the changing needs of society that diminish

517-534: Is home to rows of shophouses , such as the Sim Kwong Ho shophouses , the Balestier Art Deco shophouses , 412-418 Balestier Road , and 601-639 Balestier Road, low-rise apartments and commercial buildings as well as a shopping mall known as Shaw Plaza . Balestier also has another mall, Zhongshan Mall. There are several lighting and electrical shops along Balestier Road, which is also home to

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564-512: Is one of the few markets that have survived through the rapid transformation of Singapore. Its value and identity as an example of vernacular infrastructural design, preserved for the newer generations as an educational tool to illustrate the phenomenon of wet markets and hawker centres in the past. Timeline of events in Balestier Market and surroundings National Heritage Board (Singapore) The National Heritage Board operates

611-399: Is redecorated in the style of an old Peranakan house and has 180 new artefacts added. The Lee Foundation paid for most of the paintings, the bronze wall mural, and bronze statues and busts, which were worth over S$ 1.5 million in total. Just alongside the villa is Zhongshan Park, also named after Sun Yat Sen, an integrated hotel, commercial and retail development completed in 2013. Connecting

658-463: Is to depict the semi aquatic crops grown within the neighbourhood. The area that surrounds Balestier and Serangoon road also adopts the Malay language name of “Pauper House”, to acknowledge the presence of Tan Tock Seng pauper's Hospital to provide treatment for the under-privileged. Many more streets took on Malay names in acknowledgement to the existence of Malay kampong villages within the area. Both

705-536: The Industrial Revolution . There are the Early Shophouse style, First transitional style, late shophouse style, second transitional style, Art Deco style, and Modern shophouse style. Unlike the traditional or 2nd transitional shophouses style which have abundance ornamentation, art deco evolves from it into a new style of architecture. The primary stylistic features of an art deco shophouse are

752-534: The Singapore Improvement Trust and the Housing and Development Board built flats in the area known as St. Michael's Estate. Modern shophouses were erected in the 1960s as well including walk-up apartments. In the late 20th century, several buildings made way for newer buildings such as high-rise condominiums , shopping malls and new commercial buildings. The Sultan of Sulu used to own

799-624: The British colonial proscription of the KMT as an unlawful organisation, and a lack of foreign exchange sufficient to maintain the centre, the house closed down as a political office. In 1951, the SCCCI regained ownership of the villa and renamed it the "Sun Yat Sen Villa" after renovations in 1964. On 28 October 1994, the Singapore government gazetted the villa as a National Monument . Two years later,

846-662: The Ceylon Sports Club and the Indian Association . The area is known for its food such as bak kut teh and chicken rice . In the area, there are several apartments, condominiums , and budget hotels . The precinct was named after Joseph Balestier . As new settlers populated Balestier Road from the late 19th century, they established villages and grew crops such as taro. Balestier hired a number of immigrants on his estates. Chinese and Indian workers laboured these crops. When Balestier left Singapore due to

893-841: The Japanese military used the villa as a communication base and Kempeitai branch office. Many of the original artefacts and furniture of the hall were destroyed. After the war, the Nationalist government funded the restoration of the villa and set up the Singapore branch of the Kuomintang there. However, following the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War and founding of the People's Republic of China in October 1949,

940-596: The Republic of China in the villa. After Teo sold the villa in 1912, the villa changed ownership multiple times until it was purchased in 1937 by six Chinese leading businessmen in Singapore: Lee Kong Chian (李光前; 1893–1967), Tan Ean Kiam (陳延謙; 1881–1943), Lee Chin Tian (李振殿), Chew Hean Swee (周獻瑞; 1884–1960), Lee Choon Seng (李俊承; 1888—1966) and Yeo Kiat Tiow (楊吉兆). In the following year, they donated

987-544: The SCCCI renamed the villa to "Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall" and announced its plans to expand the place. The villa closed in November 1997 for restoration works at a cost of S$ 7.5 million. It was reopened to the public as a museum on 12 November 2001. In 2009, the SCCCI appointed the National Heritage Board (NHB) to manage the museum, and redevelopment works took place in October 2010. One year later,

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1034-460: The authority to further modernize the market. After the closure, Balestier Market was bought over by Banquet Holdings Pte Ltd and was then opened in June 2008 after the latest renovation which converted the market into a food center. This is likely because operating as a wet market would not be economically viable, especially with the competition from the neighboring big markets. Today, Balestier Market

1081-412: The busiest streets in Singapore . The rise in hawkers present on Balestier Road resulted in the sidewalks constructed for pedestrians being transformed into a makeshift market selling vegetables, fruits, cooked food, and beverages. The hawkers and their customers spilled over onto the main road and created traffic obstructions, which caused motorists to drive on the opposite side of the road and increased

1128-555: The business of remaining hawkers in Balestier Market continued to deteriorate, causing many stall owners who had been serving for decades to cease their operation entirely when the market closed for redevelopment in 2004. Due to its historical and cultural significance, Balestier Market was placed under the Conservational Act by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and subsequently, plans were made by

1175-482: The development to the villa is a similarly named 0.46 ha (4,600 m) public park. Balestier Road Balestier ( traditional Chinese : 馬里士他 ; simplified Chinese : 马里士他 ) is a sub zone located in the planning area of Novena in the Central Region of Singapore . The main road, Balestier Road, links Thomson Road to Serangoon Road and the road continues on as Lavender Street . The area

1222-442: The falling demand for Malay language films. This place is considered one of the most iconic places in Singapore in the early days as a form of local entertainment. Until the early 1980s, this site was located by the old Ruby Theatre, the first movie theatre in the area that opened in 1958 that showed mainly Chinese films. In the past, many would travel to area for movies and food carts would be present to provide some street food for

1269-436: The flight of stairs beside the main signage. The elevation of the market is a measure to deter flooding due to high surface runoff and typology of the site which occurred quite frequently in the past. A disadvantage of this feature is that the stairs cause difficulties for patrons in entering the market, as a majority of such patrons are from the older generation. Many of these architectural issues are left unresolved to retain

1316-698: The following national museums and heritage institutions. The Museum Roundtable is an initiative led by NHB since 1996. There are more than 50 members for this initiative, consisting of public and private museums, heritage galleries and attractions in Singapore such as the Singapore Art Museum , the National Museum of Singapore , the Asian Civilisations Museum , the Science Centre Singapore and

1363-410: The frequent rain and the sun. The market then served as a food ration distribution centre, in the mid-1940s during World War 2. Balestier Market is now the only 'rural' market conserved and in operation in Singapore. The government obtained Balestier's estate and leased a portion of it to Chinese farmers while another segment was turned into a burial area for patients from Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Due to

1410-418: The good condition of the soil and a proper irrigation system left over from the previous plantation, the new residents who moved into Balestier were able to establish their villages and new plantations such as taro, lime, and sugarcane. As Balestier became more reputable, tradesmen and merchants started to emerge, operating shophouses and selling their wares along the main road, turning Balestier Road into one of

1457-420: The likelihood of accidents occurring. Residents even claimed that the hawkers were hostile when motorists asked them to shift their stalls. Hence, many residents wrote to the authorities regarding the legalization of hawkers and related road safety concerns. These issues not only occurred in Balestier but also in other parts of Singapore. In response, the government designated marketplaces for hawkers to alleviate

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1504-713: The movie goers. The Shaw Towers' twin height used to sit two cinemas, the President and Hoover theaters. Hoover Theatre is a favourite for fans of the Shaw Brothers’ gong-fu films during the sixties and seventies that was opened in 1960. In 1973, President Theatre was built too. However, in 1996, both Hoover and President Theatre were demolished to make way for the Shaw Plaza that is a mixed development consisting of restaurant, departmental stall and residential apartment. Shophouses in Singapore are constructed beginning in

1551-495: The need for hawkers and the service they provide. By providing a space for these valuable hawkers, Balestier Market is able to preserve the hawker heritage while preventing itself from becoming obsolete. Balestier Market also provides a home for two lion statues previously from the Oasis Restaurant next to the former National Stadium, both of which were demolished in 2010 – a further example of how Balestier Market serve as

1598-529: The newspapers, expressing their difficulty in obtaining pork from the market and requesting the government to take action. Therefore, despite having an allocated space for hawkers to sell their products, Balestier Market failed to gain popularity amongst residents. Whampoa Wet Market and Hawker Centre also known as the Tua Pah Sat (big market in Hokkien ), located a few streets away from Balestier Market

1645-435: The nineteenth century by Chinese and other communities. There is the use of brick “ party walls ”. A further characteristic of this urban form was the width of the shophouses were generally determined by the distance it could span due to the use of timber beams between brick party walls. Unadorned shophouses went from simple looking to elaborate and sophisticated structures. A rapid spread of classical architecture began during

1692-484: The road issues and to facilitate the legalization of hawkers. Balestier Market is one of the first few wet markets in Singapore which was established as the result of this government measure. However, even with such measures, police officers were still needed to patrol the area and ensure that hawkers who possessed a hawker license do not sell their products out of their allocated area. One highly publicized example of this problem occurred in Balestier Market and arose due to

1739-414: The structural integrity and original ambience of the market. There are a handful of heritage trails and guides that introduce users to the market, promoting the last and only rural market of Singapore, in light of its historical and cultural significance. From a humble wet market for farmers to a food ration distribution centre and finally to a food centre selling local cuisine and delights, Balestier Market

1786-408: The unavailability of pork in the market – three pork vendors possessing hawker licenses elsewhere were arrested and fined for illegally selling their products outside the market premises. In effect, the establishment of Balestier Market did not completely eradicate the traffic complaints from residents as there were still makeshift stalls along the road outside the market. Furthermore, residents wrote to

1833-466: The vertical emphasis and concrete as a common material in construction to achieve smooth surfaces. The shophouse's internal spatial layout is consistent despite the change in style during the 19th century. Balestier Market, also commonly known as Or Kio ('Black Bridge' in Hokkien) due to its similarity to a dark timber bridge spanning across Sungei Whampoa, is located in the centre of Balestier Road. It

1880-526: The villa for his mother, Tan Poh Neo, as a place of retirement and renamed it "Wan Qing Yuan". In July 1905, Sun Yat Sen met Teo, Tan Chor Lam (陳楚南; 1884–1971) and Lim Nee Soon in Singapore through his close friend, Yau Lit , while en route to Europe from Japan. In April 1906, when Sun visited Singapore again, Teo offered his villa for use as the Tongmenghui 's headquarters in Southeast Asia. At

1927-465: The villa occupies an area of approximately 3,120 square metres (33,600 sq ft) and played a crucial role in the 1911 Xinhai Revolution by serving as the Tongmenghui 's base in Nanyang (Southeast Asia) in the early 20th century. The villa was designed in 1900 and built in 1901 by Boey Chuan Poh (梅春輔; 1874-1926), a businessman who owned the newspaper Union Times . The villa was rumoured to be

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1974-634: The villa to the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SCCCI). After the establishment of the Republic of China , the Nationalist government funded the refurbishment of the villa and converted it into a memorial hall in 1940. At the same time, they gathered information and artefacts related to Sun Yat Sen from overseas Chinese communities and opened the hall to the public. During the Japanese occupation of Singapore (1942–1945),

2021-510: The villa was reopened to the public on 8 October 2011 by then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean to commemorate the centenary of the Xinhai Revolution, who is also the grandnephew of Teo Eng Hock. The villa currently houses a collection of nearly 400 artefacts, including calligraphy works, photographs, old books, paintings and sculptures, spread throughout the five galleries in two levels. The villa

2068-566: The villa, the Tongmenghui planned numerous uprisings and fundraising activities leading to the 1911 Xinhai Revolution , which ended imperial rule in China under the Qing dynasty . Three uprisings of the Xinhai Revolution – Chaozhou Uprising (May 1907), Zhennanguan Uprising (December 1907), and Hekou Uprising (April 1908) – were planned in the villa. Teo and his wife, Tan Sok Jee, sewed the flag of

2115-489: Was constructed in the 1980s to provide food for the rising population of Whampoa and to replace Raymond Market located at Jalan Tenteram. As the new market supplied both raw produce and cooked food, it became more popular among the residents in both Balestier and Whampoa . Moreover, the new market operated both during the day and at night, with an allocated car park – making the market highly accessible for both drivers and residents. In 1999, even after Balestier Market underwent

2162-495: Was constructed in the early 1920s to provide local vendors and hawkers with an allocated space to sell their harvested crops and cooked food. In 1924, before the start of major developments in Balestier Road, the open market was known to be a bustling site despite being located a distance from other more prominent landmarks and streets. Later, rows of small huts with a pitched zinc roof were added in 1925 to shelter users from

2209-415: Was set up by Shaw Brothers to produce Malay films in Singapore for their local clients. The studio was later renamed as Malay Film Productions and had played a significant role in the film industry and produced hundreds of film. During World War II, this place was utilized by the Japanese to broadcast propaganda films. It was later reopened after the war in 1947, but was eventually closed in 1967 due to

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