Simei is a subzone located in the eastern part 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, bor ...

, situated within the town of

Tampines Tampines () is the regional centre of the East Region of Singapore. With a population of 265,340 living across its five subzones, it is the second-most populous planning area in Singapore, according to the DOS Population Trends 2022. It is ...

. The name ''Simei'' is

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...

for "

Four Beauties The Four Beauties or Four Great Beauties are four Chinese women who were renowned for their beauty. The four are usually identified as Xi Shi, Wang Zhaojun, Diaochan, and Yang Guifei. The scarcity of historical records concerning them meant t ...

" in Chinese. Formerly known as Tampines South, it was officially renamed to Simei in 1985.

History and Etymology

The name "Simei" is the Pinyinized version of "Soo Bee", after a short minor lane off Jalan Angin Laut, Jalan Soo Bee. It acquired its name during the height of a government policy of " Pinyinization". The current MP serving the Changi-Simei constituency is

Jessica Tan Jessica Tan Soon Neo (; born 28 May 1966) is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Singapore since 2020. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), she has been the Member of Parliament ( ...

. Simei used to be a Malay

kampung A kampong (''kampung'' in Malay and Indonesian) is the term for a village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "port" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especially of the indigenous people, and has also been used ...

. A large part of it was a Chinese cemetery called Hwa San Tng. It was cleared in February 1982 to make way for the HDB estate at Simei. For a brief period, the roads in the estate were named after the legendary

(i.e.

Xi Shi Xi Shi (Hsi Shih; , ) was, according to legends, one of the renowned Four Beauties of ancient China. She was said to have lived during the end of the Spring and Autumn period in Zhuji, the capital of the ancient State of Yue. In traditiona ...

, Wang Zhaojun,

Diaochan Diaochan was one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. Although based on a minor historical personage, she is mostly a fictional character. She is best known for her role in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', ...

and

Yang Guifei Yang Yuhuan (; 26 June, 719 – 15 July 756Volume 218 of ''Zizhi Tongjian'' recorded that Yang was killed on the ''bingshen'' day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Zhide era of Tang Suzong's reign. This date corresponds to 15 Jul 756 on t ...

) in Chinese history. These confusing names were swiftly changed following complaints.

Facilities

Simei is a well-developed estate with plenty of amenities and facilities. There are schools, an MRT station, coffee shops and a shopping mall,

Eastpoint Mall Eastpoint Mall is a one-level regional enclosed shopping center located in Baltimore County. Eastpoint Mall was one of Baltimore’s first shopping centers and has been serving the community since 1956. Eastpoint Mall is anchored by JCPenney, Bu ...

. While outside of Simei there is also Singapore Expo, Changi Business Park and Changi City Point nearby. Commercial tenants of the shopping centres include restaurants, supermarkets, department stores, bookstores, jewellery and gift shops. NTUC FairPrice, a leading

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

chain in Singapore, is located on the 5th floor of Eastpoint Mall for 24 hours.

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

is a 24-hour convenience store located near Simei MRT Station.

Giant (hypermarket) GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (doing business as Giant Hypermarket) is a hypermarket and retailer chain now mainly in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia, and formerly Indonesia and Vietnam. In 2016, Giant was the largest supermarket chai ...

is located under Simei MRT station and operates 24 hours daily. Simei Park is the only park in Simei, consisting of a playground, elderly fitness corner and running tracks. There are different kinds of residential dwellings in the area, comprising landed properties, condominiums, mansions and public housing flats. For medical needs,

Changi General Hospital Changi General Hospital (abbreviation: CGH) is a 1000-bed hospital located in Simei, eastern Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lie ...

is located here as well, and serves many Singaporeans living in the eastern area.

Amenities

There are wide range of amenities at Simei, including

, retail outlets and the Changi Simei community centre.

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

facilities situated in the town include

ITE College East ITE College East (ITECE) is a post-secondary education institution and statutory board under the purview of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. It is one of the Institute of Technical Education's three colleges under the "One ITE System, ...

, the Metta Development School, Changkat Primary School, Changkat Changi Secondary School, as well as the

Singapore University of Technology and Design The Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) is a public autonomous university in Singapore. History The founding president is Thomas L. Magnanti, who is a professor associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...

. Being in between Bedok and Tampines, residents are within reach of even more amenities.

Transport

Simei is well served by public transport. Most of the town is within 10 minutes walking distance from

Simei MRT station Simei MRT station is an above-ground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East West line in Tampines planning area, Singapore, at the centre of Simei housing estate flanked by Simei Street 1 and Simei Street 3 next to Eastpoint Mall. This ...

. It also enjoys close proximity to

Singapore Changi Airport Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport , is a major civilian international airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. As one of the world's busiest airports by international passe ...

via the Pan-Island Expressway. Public bus services that serve Simei's town centre, the MRT station and the outskirts include 2, 4N, 5, 9, 10, 12, Express 12e, 17, 20, 24, 31, 35, 35M, 38, 47, 48, 118, 531, 753, NR7 (now defunct) and TS1. Short-trip bus services that also serve Simei include 9A, 31A, 118A and 118B. Public bus services that ply express sectors along Simei Flyover on the PIE, Simei Avenue and Upper Changi Road East include 27, Express 513, Express 518A and City Direct 661. Mass Transport System * Simei * Upper Changi *

Expo An expo is a trade exposition. It may also refer to: Events and venues * World's fair, a large international public exposition * Singapore Expo, convention and exposition venue ** Expo Axis, one of the world's largest membrane roofs, construct ...

* Xilin (future) Xilin MRT station will be a future station as part of DTL3 extension. It will be completed in 2024 in tandem with the opening of the Stage 4 of the Thomson-East Coast Line.

References

{{Places in Singapore Places in Singapore