Sin Ming () is a housing estate located in the subzone of
Upper Thomson
Thomson is a relatively narrow area stretching from Novena in the Central Region of Singapore up north till Sembawang. The area is mainly located within the central catchment area where some of Singapore's reservoirs are located, including M ...
in the town of
Bishan,
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 ...
. It is roughly situated between
MacRitchie Nature Reserve and
Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park.
It consists of both residential and industrial areas.
Singapore's largest
Chinese Buddhist temple,
Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery
The Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (also the ''Bright Hill Pujue Chan Monastery'') (), is a Buddhist temple and monastery in Bishan, Singapore. Built by Zhuan Dao in the early 20th century to propagate Buddhism and to provide lodging ...
, is located in the vicinity of Sin Ming.
Residential homes includes a mixture of landed properties, condominiums and
Housing Development Board blocks.
Sin Ming Avenue HDB is part of Bishan Toa Payoh GRC, while Sin Ming Road HDB is part of Marymount SMC.
Transportation
Sin Ming has its own
MRT
MRT may refer to:
Transport Rapid Transit Systems
* Mass Rapid Transit (disambiguation)
* MRT (Singapore) or Mass Rapid Transit, Singapore
* MRT (Bangkok) or Metropolitan Rapid Transit, Thailand
* Manila Metro Rail Transit System, Philippine ...
stations when
Bright Hill MRT station and
Upper Thomson MRT station on the
Thomson–East Coast MRT line
zh, 汤申-东海岸地铁线 ta, தாம்சன் - ஈஸ்ட் கோஸ்ட் எம்ஆர்டி வழி
, close =
, owner = Land Transport Authority
, operator ...
, opened on August 28, 2021. This line links to Sin Ming with the Central Business District of Singapore.
Education
The campus of
Ai Tong School
Ai Tong School () is a primary school located in Bishan, Singapore. It is one of the five affiliated primary schools under the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan. As a Chinese-medium school, Ai Tong emphasises strongly on the learning of Chinese cultur ...
, a
Special Assistance Plan
The Special Assistance Plan (SAP; ) is a programme in Singapore introduced in 1979 which caters to academically strong students who excel in both their mother tongue as well as English. It is available only in selected primary and secondary school ...
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 ...
established in 1912 and affiliate to
Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan
Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan (SHHK) (), or the Singapore Hokkien Association in English, is a cultural and educational foundation. It was established in 1840 to promote education, social welfare and the preservation of the Chinese language and cultu ...
, is located in the Bright Hill Drive area of Sin Ming.
It relocated its campus from its previous campus in
Ang Mo Kio to its current location in Sin Ming in 1992 to cope with rising student enrollment.
The permanent campus of
Eunoia Junior College, the 20th junior college in Singapore, is located in Sin Ming.
Amenities
Sin Ming is home to many companies related to the automotive industry.
Examples include the Vicom Vehicle Inspection Centre,
one of the authorized vehicle testing and inspection centres in Singapore, and an Independent Damage Assessment Centre (IDAC),
an independent centre that assesses vehicles that were damaged in accidents for insurance purposes. The
Land Transport Authority of Singapore
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport of the Government of Singapore.
History Incorporation of Land Transport Authority
Land Transport Authority (LTA) was established on 1 September 1995, f ...
(LTA) has a branch office in Sin Ming which houses its Vehicle and Transit Licensing division.
The offices of Citicab and Comfort taxi companies, both under
ComfortDelGro group, are also located in Sin Ming.
It also has an NEA North East Office. Thomson Combined Temple and Tian Leong Keng are two united temples that also located in Sin Ming.
Sin Ming is one of the few places where funeral-related services are available.
The Bright Hill
Crematorium and
Columbarium, located within
Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery
The Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (also the ''Bright Hill Pujue Chan Monastery'') (), is a Buddhist temple and monastery in Bishan, Singapore. Built by Zhuan Dao in the early 20th century to propagate Buddhism and to provide lodging ...
, provides crematoria services and facilities to store ashes of the deceased.
The other crematorium and columbarium are located in Tse Tho Aum Temple, another
Buddhist temple
A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...
along Sin Ming Drive. In 2007, the government announced that it would construct a purpose-built funeral parlour in Sin Ming.
This plan was met with fierce opposition by nearby residents, since local superstitions associate death and dying with bad luck.
Residents were also concerned that the value of their properties will decrease as a result of the funeral parlour.
In response, the government promised that the area would not become a "funeral parlour hub" and that the parlour would be located in the industrial area and thus away from the residential estates.
Despite the negative associations of living near a columbarium, a study of property prices of properties in Sin Ming by the Singapore Real Estate Exchange found that a flat near the columbarium fetched a higher price as compared to a larger flat of similar age that was further away from the columbarium.
The study concluded that the effects of the columbarium on housing prices in the area was offset by the presence of amenities like popular schools.
Controversy
Sin Ming is home to many free-ranging chickens.
A National Parks Board investigation in March 2022 showed there were 69 chickens in the area, up from 50 in 2017.
A task force was created to control the chicken population, using strategies like relocation to avoid culling the chickens, which led to outcry when conducted in 2017.
References
{{Places in Singapore
Places in Singapore
Hokkien place names