Bukit Batok Town Park
Singapore Infopedia
Background
Constructed from a disused granite quarry, Bukit Batok Town Park is commonly known as “Little Guilin” or “Xiao Guilin”, due to its resemblance to a similar scenic location in Guilin, China. Comprising 42 ha of land, it is located along Bukit Batok East Avenue 5.1 The name “Bukit Batok” is derived from the combination of two Malay words: “Bukit” which means hill, and “Batok” which means cough. In the 1950s, the noise generated by the blasting of the granite quarries made it sound as though the “hills were coughing”.2
Together, the Bukit Batok Town Park and the neighbouring Bukit Batok Nature Park occupy a total of 77 ha of land in the planning area of Bukit Batok.3
In 1996, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) conceptualised the Development Guide Plan for Yishun and Bukit Batok, which proposed the use of the surrounding parks to enhance the residential landscape for the area. It also proposed links between the Town Park and Nature Parks, and eventually linking them via park connectors to the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in the east, and Sungei Pandan in the north.4
Besides being used for exercise and walks, the Town Park is also popular with shutterbugs and wedding couples. The high biodiversity in the park is also appealing for bird-watching and photography enthusiasts.5
Author
Eunice Low
References
1. “Bukit Batok Town Park,” National Parks Board, accessed 31 March 2016.
2. Urban Redevelopment Authority (Singapore), Bukit Batok Planning Areas: Planning Report 1996 (Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority, 1996), 8. (Call no. RSING 711.4095957 SIN)
3. Urban Redevelopment Authority (Singapore), Bukit Batok Planning Areas, 27.
4. Diana Oon, “Natural Landscape to Be Tapped in Bt Batok, Yishun,” Business Times, 31 January 1996, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
5. National Parks Board, “Bukit Batok Town Park.”
The information in this article is valid as at 2016 and correct as far as we can ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.
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