The Central Area, also called the City Area, and informally The City, is the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. Located in the south-eastern part of the Central Region, the Central Area consists of eleven constituent planning areas: the

Downtown Core The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the city-state of Singapore and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with many integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive build ...

Marina East Marina East is a planning area located in the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore, covering of reclaimed land. It is the location of NTUC Club's Marina Bay Golf Course (formerly known as the Marina East Course) and the Gardens by ...

Marina South Marina South is a planning area located within the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. It is largely home to Gardens by the Bay as well as the Marina Barrage. The name has also been used to refer to the larger peninsula the plannin ...

, the

Museum Planning Area The Museum Planning Area is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area located in the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area of the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. The area plays a "bridging role" between the Orchard Road ...

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

Orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

, Outram,

River Valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

Rochor Rochor is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area located within the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area of the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Rochor shares boundaries with the following planning areas – Kallan ...

, the

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, altho ...

and

Straits View Straits View is a planning area located in the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. The area is currently relatively undeveloped, with fewer commercial developments compared to the adjacent Downtown Core. Straits View planning area ...

, as defined by the

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Government of Singapore. Mission The authority was established on 1 Apri ...

. The term Central Business District (CBD) has also been used to describe most of the Central Area as well, although its boundaries lie within the Downtown Core. The Central Area surrounds the banks of the Singapore River and Marina Bay where the first settlements on the island were established shortly after the arrival of Raffles in 1819. Surrounding the Central Area is the rest of the Central Region. The Central Area shares boundaries with the planning areas of

Novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...

to the north,

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

to the north and north-east,

Tanglin Tanglin is a planning area located within the Central Region of Singapore. Tanglin is located west of Newton, Orchard, River Valley and Singapore River, south of Novena, east of Bukit Timah, northeast of Queenstown and north of Bukit Merah. ...

to the north-west and west, Bukit Merah to the south-west and

Marine Parade Marine Parade is a planning area and residential estate located in the Central Region of Singapore. Straddling the tip of the southeastern coast of Pulau Ujong, Marine Parade serves as a buffer between the Central and East regions of the ci ...

to the east. The south-easternmost limits of the city is enclosed by

Marina Barrage Marina Barrage is a dam in southern Singapore built at the confluence of five rivers, across the Marina Channel between Marina East and Marina South. First conceptualised in 1987 by then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew to help achieve greater sel ...

, where the mouth of Marina Bay meets the

Singapore Strait The Singapore Strait is a , strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the South China Sea in the east. Singapore is on the north of the channel, and the Indonesian Riau Islands are on the south. The two countries share a maritime ...

History

Much of the central area bounded by Telok Ayer Road, which has a high concentration of skyscrapers, is actually built on reclaimed land. Therefore, when

Thian Hock Keng Temple Thian Hock Keng. & ( or the Tianfu Temple, literally "Palace of Heavenly Happiness"), is a temple built for the worship of Mazu, a Chinese sea goddess, located in Singapore. It is the oldest and most important temple of the Hokkien (Hoklo) p ...

was built in 1839 along Telok Ayer Road, the temple used to face the sea and would be the first place visited by newly arrived Chinese immigrants to worship and give thanks to Ma Zu (Goddess of the Sea) for her blessings of their safe voyage. Prior to 1839, the temple served as a joss-house for the Hokkien immigrants. This temple, which is also one of the first Hokkien temple to be built by the Hokkien clan under the leadership of

Tan Tock Seng Tan Tock Seng (; 1798 – 24 February 1850) was a Malacca-born merchant and philanthropist from Singapore. Early life and business Tan Tock Seng was born in Malacca in 1798 to a Chinese Fujianese immigrant father and local Peranakan mother ...

and Si Hoo Keh, is in the architectural style of southern China, using only materials imported from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and supported with no

nail Nail or Nails may refer to: In biology * Nail (anatomy), toughened protective protein-keratin (known as alpha-keratin, also found in hair) at the end of an animal digit, such as fingernail * Nail (beak), a plate of hard horny tissue at the tip ...

s. The clan's office was housed there and this temple was also used as a meeting venue. The construction of the temple was completed in 1842 and details of this temple's history are recorded in granite tablets found on the wall inside the Entrance Hall. A plaque inscribed with the words Bo Jing Nan Ming (Gentle Waves over the South Seas) which was bestowed by the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...

of Qing dynasty in 1907, is found in the temple that indicate evidence of the temple's stature. The temple comprises an architectural works of stone, tiles and wood, dragons and phoenixes, as well as carvings, sculptures and columns. The Thian Hock Keng temple has been gazetted as a national

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, his ...

in 1973. The temple is currently managed by the Hokkien Huay Kuan. At Church Street is the Yueh Hai Ching Temple, one of the oldest

Taoist temples A Taoist temple (, also called ''dàoguàn'' and , is a place where the Tao is observed and cultivated it is a place of worship in Taoism. Structure and function can vary according to the Taoist schools, Taoist school the temple belongs to. For e ...

, having been built in 1852 (however, an older wood-and-attap shrine was built on Philip Street 1826). This temple was established by a group of Teochew settlers from Guangzhou in China when they dedicated a shrine to Tian Hou Sheng Mu. This temple faced the sea and was therefore a place where newly arrived Chinese immigrants (sailors and travellers) came to offer their respect to the Goddess for their safe voyage across the seas. The renovation to the temple was undertaken by the

Ngee Ann Kongsi The Ngee Ann Kongsi () is a charitable foundation located in Singapore and governed by the Ngee Ann Kongsi Ordinance of 1933. It is one of many Overseas Chinese Kongsi, or clan associations, that were set up by immigrants from China in the late ...

, which was formed by a group of immigrants from the Teochew community. This temple served as a meeting place for the people of the Teochew community in the late 19th century when the Teochews became the second largest Chinese Dialect group in Singapore. The temple was honoured with a ''bian e'', an imperial plaque from

Emperor Guangxu The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...

of the Qing Dynasty in 1907. In 1996 it was gazetted as a national monument and it underwent repairs and restoration works. The background contrast between the old temples and the new modern buildings indicate the juxtaposition and coexistence of new and old. The temple has a cover structure composed of models depicting the lives of Chinese

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

rs. Guangxu also presented the temple with a signboard that is still displayed in the temple today. The Armenian Church, located at Hill Street, is the oldest church in Singapore. The funding for the building of the church came from contributions of the Armenian community. It was built in the 1830s by George Coleman, the architect of many buildings in Singapore, for a small Armenian community that once resided in Singapore. The Church was credited as a national monument.

CHIJMES CHIJMES (pronounced "''chimes''", acronym definition: ''Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Middle Education School'') is a historic building complex in Singapore, which began life as a Catholic convent known as the ''Convent of the Holy Infant ...

, located at Victoria Street, was originally a Catholic

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

which is currently converted into a modern dining area with

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s. The original structure was well preserved and the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

is still present. The restaurants reside in the old

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

s of the convent. In the 1960s, a group of Indonesian saboteurs bombed the Orchard road HSBC building in Singapore, just a few months after Singapore got it's independence from Malaysia during Konfrontasi. A number of people were killed and the police managed to execute the two military officers responsible for this.

Land use

The Central Area is one of the most densely developed places in Singapore, with a large mix of commercial and residential developments packed into a space of only 1784 hectares. A great number of Mass Rapid Transit stations are concentrated in this area as well, especially interchange stations and stations along the Circle MRT line. Each of the districts within the Central Area has a heavy and dense commercial presence, especially in the Downtown Core, Orchard and Singapore River districts. Rochor, Newton, River Valley and Outram are commercially thriving, but have fewer

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

s and generally include a greater

residential A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

presence.

Schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

s and

Housing Development Board The Housing & Development Board (HDB) (; ms, Lembaga Perumahan dan Pembangunan; ta, வீடமைப்பு வளர்ச்சிக் கழகம்) or often referred to as the Housing Board, is a statutory board under the M ...

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

s are located in these areas, albeit at higher prices. Since the 1970s, the

Singapore government The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...

and the

have reclaimed land portions from Marina Bay in an attempt to expand the Central Area. Newly created portions of land surrounding Marina Bay have been organised and labelled into

and Straits View. Many construction projects have been completed in these districts since their creation, but most of them are still under consolidation or development. It also houses the headquarters of many Multinational Companies and the

Singapore Exchange The Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) is a Singaporean investment holding company that provides different services related to securities and derivatives trading and others. SGX is also a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Asian ...

. The tallest skyscrapers in Singapore are located at the Central Area, mainly the Raffles Place area. They adhere to a height restriction of 280m, except the Tanjong Pagar Centre, which is exempted from the height restriction and is allowed to be built up to 290m. Shophouses on

Ann Siang Hill Ann Siang Hill ( Chinese: 安祥山, ms, Bukit Ann Siang) is a small hill, and the name of a one-way road located in Chinatown, Singapore. It was named after Chia Ann Siang, a wealthy businessman. The road links Club Street and Ann Siang Ro ...

have changed purposes over the years. In the past, these shophouses were used as clan houses for the various clans that existed in the Chinatown region. Due to a housing shortage exacerbated by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, HDB began development of the blocks after the war.

History

Land use

See also

References

Further reading