Whampoa ( ) is a housing estate located in the subzone of
Balestier
Balestier () is a sub zone located in the planning area of Novena, Singapore, Novena in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. The main road, Balestier Road, links Thomson Road, Singapore, Thomson Road to Serangoon Road and ...
, which is a part of
Novena
A novena (from , "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 Pentecost, when the ...
planning area in Singapore, as defined by the
Urban Redevelopment Authority
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National De ...
. Within the context of the
Housing and Development Board
The Housing & Development Board (HDB; often referred to as the Housing Board; ; ; ), is a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National Developmen ...
(HDB), however, Whampoa forms part of the Kallang/Whampoa New Town, together with the various housing precincts located in the adjacent
Kallang
Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore.
Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...
planning area. This makes Kallang/Whampoa the only HDB
new town
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz
* New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013
* New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...
that encompasses two planning areas, namely Novena and Kallang.
Etymology
The name "Whampoa" is the nickname of
Hoo Ah Kay, a Chinese immigrant and later a prominent Singaporean businessman and member of the
Legislative Council of Singapore who was known for having fluent multilingual skills as well as his contributions to the economy of early colonial Singapore.
His nickname is a romanization of the Chinese word
Huángpǔ, which is a district in
Guangzhou
Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
.
Infrastructure and amenities
Housing
Being a housing estate, Whampoa consists mainly of modern
Housing and Development Board
The Housing & Development Board (HDB; often referred to as the Housing Board; ; ; ), is a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National Developmen ...
(HDB) flathouses. Whampoa is one of the older housing estates and hence some of the flathouses are constructed in an older, outdated style.
Eateries
Whampoa has several eateries, the most prominent being the
Whampoa Makan Place, a large hawker centre which also contains a wet market. There is also a
7-Eleven
7-Eleven, Inc. is an American convenience store chain, headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Seven-Eleven Japan, which in turn is owned by the retail holdings company Seven & I Holdings.
The chain was founde ...
outlet located along Kim Keat Road.
Parks
The Whampoa Park is a park located in the heart of Whampoa. It has recreational facilities, for example a playground for children and a fitness area.
Historically, there used to be a large park adjacent to Whampoa Drive but it had to be cleared in order to make way for the construction of the Central Expressway.
Medical facilities
A kidney dialysis centre owned by the
National Kidney Foundation Singapore is located along Kim Keat Road. There is also a clinic known as Whampoa Clinic located at Block 88 of the Whampoa Drive area.
Religious sites
Whampoa has a few religious sites. The Goh Chor Tua Pek Kong Temple, a temple dedicated to the Chinese deity
Tua Pek Kong, was established in 1847 by Hokkien immigrants and then renovated between 1920–1928. For the Muslims, there is only one mosque,
Masjid Hajjah Rahimabi Kebun Limau, situated along Kim Keat Road, built in 1984 to replace a smaller mosque.
Transport
The
Saint Michael's Bus Terminal is located in Whampoa and serves a limited number of bus services.
Landmarks
Flora and Fauna
At some point of time, Whampoa became known for having lime plantations. This resulted in a small two-storey mosque in Whampoa having the name Kebun Limau which means "lime fruit plantations" in Malay.
Whampoa Dragon Fountain
The
Whampoa Dragon Fountain is a fountain with a sculpture of a large
Chinese dragon
The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...
was completed in 1973. The fountain is the only remaining portion of a large park that was cleared for the development of the Central Expressway.
Gallery
File:Balestier and the NKF centre aerial panorama taken in February 2023.jpg, A panorama of Whampoa, taken in 2023. The NKF dialysis centre and Masjid Hajjah Rahimabi Kebun Limau are visible in the lower left bottom of the image.
File:Sungei Whampoa.jpg, A view of the Whampoa River that flows throughout the neighborhood.
File:Sungei Whampoa 2.jpg, Another view of the Whampoa River during evening.
File:Curtin Singapore 2018 1.jpg, Curtain Singapore building in Whampoa.
File:Whampoa Makan Place.jpg, Whampoa Makan Place
File:Exterior view of Masjid Hajjah Rahimabi Kebun Limau.jpg, Masjid Hajjah Rahimabi Kebun Limau
Politics
The Whampoa area has been part of
Jalan Besar GRC since 1997. However, it was
Whampoa SMC between 2011 and 2015. The current Member of Parliament (MP) is
Heng Chee How.
References
Novena, Singapore
Kallang
Central Region, Singapore
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