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Lim Chu Kang is a planning area located in the northwestern part of the North Region of
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 ...
, bordering the
Western Water Catchment The Western Water Catchment is a planning area located in the West Region of Singapore. The planning area borders Tuas and Pioneer to its south, Sungei Kadut, Choa Chu Kang and Tengah to its east, Jurong West to its southeast, Lim Chu Kang to ...
to the west and south,
Sungei Kadut Sungei Kadut is an industrial estate and planning area located in the North Region of Singapore. It is bounded by Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang to the south, Mandai to the east, as well as Lim Chu Kang and the Western Water Catchment to the w ...
to the east and the
Straits of Johor The Johore Strait (also known as the Tebrau Strait, Straits of Johor, Selat Johor, Selat Tebrau, and Tebrau Reach) is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. Geography The strait separates the Ma ...
to the north.


History

Lim Chu Kang Village was founded by
Neo Ao Tiew Neo Ao Tiew (; 1884 – 1975), MBE, S.C.H, was a Chinese businessman, philanthropist and sheriff from Nan'an, Fujian. He is best known for developing the Lim Chu Kang area of Singapore. Neo Tiew Road, located in the district of Lim Chu Kang, i ...
(; 1884 - 1975), a
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
immigrant from
Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
who was the
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
of the village. "Lim" was taken from
Lim Chwee Chian Lim or LIM may refer to: Name * Lim (Korean surname), a common Korean surname * Lim (Chinese surname), Hokkien, Hakka, Teochew and Hainanese spelling of the Chinese family name "Lin" * Liza Lim (born 1966), Australian classical composer Abbrevi ...
who was the kangchu, or leader, of the area. The village is on the banks of the Sungei
Kranji Kranji is a suburb in northwestern Singapore, bounded by Sungei Kadut to the north, Turf Club to the east, as well as Lim Chu Kang and the Western Water Catchment to the west. It is located about from the city centre and it came from Malay word " ...
and was controlled by the Lim
clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
. Neo Tiew also set up a
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
and health centre in the village. Neo Tiew Road is named after him. The area was originally noted for its numerous
pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...
and gambier plantations. Later there were
rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
plantations, e.g. Namazie-Cashin rubber estates.


Ama Keng Village

Ama Keng Village (亞媽宮村) was one of the three villages in the Lim Chu Kang, together with Neo Tiew and Sungei Gedong. It takes its name from the Mazu, the goddess of the sea in 1900. In the 1950s, the government developed the bustling farming site to serve as the main food production centre. In 1980s, residents of the Ama Keng were resettled and all eventually moved out to Jurong West, Choa Chu Kang and Yew Tee. After the last resident left, on 10 April 2002, the SAF took possession of the entire Ama Keng for military training use. On 27 September 2012, an SAF serviceman died during training in the camp. After the removal of the military training area in
Tengah ''Tengah'' is an Indonesian and Malay word meaning "Central". It can be found in topography, e.g. *Kalimantan Tengah *Tengah Islands or Central Archipelago. *Tengah, Singapore *Tengah Air Base The Tengah Air Base is a military airbase of th ...
by 2016, it became the largest training ground for the Lim Chu Kang and Keat Hong camps. In the 1960s and 1970s, Ama Keng was well-served by shops, a police station as well as a maternity and child welfare centre. All these were closed down by 1990. The Ama Keng English School was founded in 1951 and was moved to Choa Chu Kang in 1990 and renamed to South View Primary School. The old school building became a workers' quarters and military training ground.


Neo Tiew

Neo Tiew is named after
Neo Ao Tiew Neo Ao Tiew (; 1884 – 1975), MBE, S.C.H, was a Chinese businessman, philanthropist and sheriff from Nan'an, Fujian. He is best known for developing the Lim Chu Kang area of Singapore. Neo Tiew Road, located in the district of Lim Chu Kang, i ...
(梁後宙, a prominent Chinese businessman. Neo is credited with the development of the Lim Chu Kang area, where he built roads, houses and a seaport. He was also the founder and
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
of Lim Chu Kang Village. In 1967, the British colonial government named a 3.5 km stretch of road "Neo Tiew Road" or "Neo Tiew Lane" in recognition of his contributions to the area.*Victor R Savage, Brenda S A Yeoh (2003), ''Toponymics – A Study of Singapore Street Names'', Eastern Universities Press, On 17 February 2011, most parts of Neo Tiew became a military training area.


Sungei Gedong

In the 1960s, Sungei Gedong Road was lined with shophouses and cinemas. A major plan by the government to move residents into HDB flats have seen the decline of the small town. A small HDB estate which was opposite Lim Chu Kang Road was built in the early 1980s, but had been cleared by the late 1990s and expanded the Sungei Gedong Camp's military training area in 2000s. On 11 July 2001, SAF took possession of the entire Sungei Gedong for military training area.


Lim Chu Kang Bus Terminal

In the 1980s, Lim Chu Kang Road End Bus Terminal was served by Services 172 (to Shenton Way Bus Terminal and later shortened to loop at Jalan Anak Bukit) and 206 (to Jurong Bus Interchange and later amended to
Boon Lay Bus Interchange Boon Lay Bus Interchange is an air-conditioned bus interchange located in Jurong West Central, in the western part of Singapore. It is situated within Jurong Point and integrated with the nearby Boon Lay MRT station. This interchange serves a v ...
.) On 3 January 1993, route 172 was amended to Boon Lay Interchange. On 18 July 1993, new service 175 was introduced from Lim Chu Kang to Upper Bukit Timah Road (Loop) replacing route 206 which was withdrawn. In 2005 service 175 was shortened to Bukit Panjang, amended to loop at the Lim Chu Kang Road End and renumbered service 975. The bus stop is renamed as Police Coast Guard.


Today

Today, Lim Chu Kang is still largely
rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
and is located in close proximity with the
Western Water Catchment The Western Water Catchment is a planning area located in the West Region of Singapore. The planning area borders Tuas and Pioneer to its south, Sungei Kadut, Choa Chu Kang and Tengah to its east, Jurong West to its southeast, Lim Chu Kang to ...
. Lim Chu Kang is served by two main roads known as
Lim Chu Kang Road Lim Chu Kang is a planning area located in the northwestern part of the North Region of Singapore, bordering the Western Water Catchment to the west and south, Sungei Kadut to the east and the Straits of Johor to the north. History Lim Chu K ...
and Old Choa Chu Kang Road. As this area is still undeveloped, its land use primarily consists of military training areas,
agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
,
farms A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
, the only remaining cemeteries in Singapore (due to exhumations in others to make way for new developments) and a major cinerarium. There are also side-roads, like Jalan Sungei Poyan, Lim Chu Kang Road Track 11/13 and Jalan Bahtera. The area will not be used for residential purposes in the near future or in the Land Use Plan 2030. Rather, it will largely retain its agricultural and military value. The 62 farms in the western part of Lim Chu Kang are being cleared progressively from April 2020 and completing in December 2022, to make way for military training areas. Various types of farms where sustainable agriculture is practiced such as vegetable, goat and crocodile farms give city dwellers an insight on nature. It has also been an increasingly popular exploration for tourists in recent years, due in part to its close proximity to the
Kranji MRT station Kranji MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North South line (NSL). Situated in Sungei Kadut, Singapore along Woodlands Road, it serves the Singapore Turf Club and the Woodlands Wafer Fabrication Park. The stati ...
.


Ama Keng Chinese Temple

The Ama Keng Chinese Temple (亞媽宮) in Lim Chu Kang was built in 1900 to worship
Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. Re ...
, the holy mother, a goddess of peace and happiness. ''Ama'' means "grandmother" in Teochew and
Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
, and ''keng'' means "
temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
". The "incense ashes" of this temple were brought in from Wak Hai Cheng Bio Temple (粵海清廟), the oldest Teochew temple in Singapore. The first temple was made of
attap ''Nypa fruticans'', commonly known as the nipa palm (or simply nipa, from ms, nipah) or mangrove palm, is a species of palm native to the coastlines and estuarine habitats of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the only palm considered adapted ...
. The temple was renovated in 1943 with a
zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
roof and
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
. In 1965, it was redeveloped with a
tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
d roof, and the renovations cost S$16,000. The temple holds
wayang , also known as ( jv, ꦮꦪꦁ, translit=wayang), is a traditional form of puppet theatre play originating from the Indonesian island of Java. refers to the entire dramatic show. Sometimes the leather puppet itself is referred to as . Perfor ...
performances a few times a year. In the late 1980s, the government acquired the temple's land for military purposes. The temple committee, residents and devotees attempted to petition against the acquisition without success, and the temple was eventually demolished.Searching for the Remnants of Ama Keng
/ref>


Lim Chu Kang Rural Centre

In 1979, a
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 ...
estate was constructed in Neo Tiew.) In addition to public housing units, a wet market and an old playground were also constructed in this estate. In 2002, the entire estate was sold back to the government in an en-bloc sale; its residents moved to newly built housing units in
Jurong West Jurong West is a planning area and residential town located in the West Region of Singapore. Jurong West shares boundaries with Tengah in the north, Jurong East in the east, Boon Lay and Pioneer in the south, and Western Water Catchment in t ...
. The remains of the old housing estate are currently used by the
Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MINDE ...
for their
Fighting in Built-Up Areas Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and city, cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban war ...
(FIBUA) training from 2004, which has restricted access and only accessible from the Sungei Gedong Camp (TRMC) Operations Room. In 2012, the site was used for the shooting of a war scene in the film, ''
Ah Boys to Men ''Ah Boys to Men'' () is a 2012 Singaporean military comedy film produced and directed by Jack Neo, written by Neo and Link Sng. It stars Joshua Tan, Maxi Lim, Noah Yap, Wang Weiliang, Tosh Zhang, Justin Dominic Misson, Aizuddiin Nasser and Rid ...
''.


References

{{Authority control Places in Singapore West Region, Singapore Western Water Catchment Hokkien place names