40-460: South East CDC MacPherson SMC Marine Parade GRC Mountbatten SMC Potong Pasir SMC Geylang ( / ɡ eɪ l ɑː ŋ / ) is a planning area and township located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore , bordering Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Marine Parade in the south, Bedok in the east, and Kallang in the west. Geylang is previously known as
80-555: A red-light district , particularly the areas along Geylang Road . Today only 3-4 units remain for brothels and street walkers are hard to come by. Geylang is also where one of Singapore's oldest Malay settlements, Geylang Serai, is located. During Ramadan , the neighbourhood is famous for its popular and iconic Ramadan lights and bazaars. The word Geylang is found early in Singapore's history and also in early topographical maps showing marsh and coconut plantations beside and adjacent to
120-521: A large variety of spices and ingredient for making of traditional Malay cuisine, such as cinnamon and nutmeg. The Geylang area is composed of north and south sections that are divided by Geylang Road which stretches for about three kilometres. Throughout the length of Geylang Road, there are lanes ( lorong in Malay ) that extend perpendicularly from the main road. The lanes in the north are given odd numbered names (i.e. Lorong 1, Lorong 3, Lorong 5 and so on), and
160-613: A natural deep-harbour destination that played host to the French, Portuguese, Dutch and other European navies and their men. Other seaports in Asia, from Shanghai to Calcutta, also played a role in the traffic of women and girls for prostitution. 1900s A terminal for the first tramway in Singapore was then built in Geylang Serai while the farmers staying there already shifted to cultivate other cash crops, including rubber and coconuts. Meanwhile, with
200-425: A quarter of all oil carried by sea passes through the strait, mainly from Persian Gulf suppliers to Asian markets. In 2007, an estimated 13.7 million barrels per day were transported through the strait, increasing to an estimated 15.2 million barrels per day in 2011. In addition, it is also one of the world's most congested shipping choke points because it narrows to only 2.8 km (1.5 nautical miles ) wide at
240-454: A sum of 3.8 million SGD for the renewal of the region. Under the scheme, Many HDB flats and new facilities were constructed, including Taj cinema, Concourse, light industrial properties, shopping malls and Geylang Serai market. 1980s The old kampungs in the region vanished and Geylang Serai turned into a modern residential district. 2000s In tandem with the urbanization of the region, the importance of preservation of Malay cultural heritage
280-499: A western port on the Malay Peninsula . They traded glassware, camphor , cotton goods, brocades , ivory , sandalwood , perfume, and precious stones. These traders sailed to Kedah via the monsoon winds between June and November. They returned between December and May. Kedah provided accommodations, porters, small vessels, bamboo rafts, elephants, as well as tax collections for goods to be transported overland toward eastern ports of
320-575: Is bordered by Hougang and Toa Payoh in the north, Kallang in the west, Marine Parade in the south, and Bedok in the east. Beginning in the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the boundaries of Geylang are made up of MacPherson Road , Airport Road, Eunos Link, Jalan Eunos, Still Road, Koon Seng Road, Dunman Road, the Geylang River , Mountbatten Road , Sims Way, and the Pan Island Expressway (PIE). Geylang New Town as defined by
360-565: Is even shallower and narrower, meaning that ships exceeding the Malaccamax must detour a few thousand nautical miles and use the Lombok Strait , Makassar Strait , Sibutu Passage , and Mindoro Strait instead. Piracy has been a problem in the strait. Piracy had been high in the 2000s, with additional increase after the events of September 11, 2001. After attacks rose again in the first half of 2004, regional navies stepped up their patrols of
400-479: Is that Geylang is a corruption of the Malay word 'gelang' which is a type of edible creeper ( Portulaca oleracea ). This is a plausible explanation for the name because Malays typically name places based on the abundance of certain plant species (e.g. Melaka after the eponyming tree ) or geological formations (e.g. Bukit Gombak based on the comb-like hill summit). Grouped under the Central Region , Geylang Planning Area
440-874: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) sits within the Geylang Planning Area. Geylang Planning Area is made up of five "subzones", as officially defined by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The development of Geylang can best be observed along the main trunk road, Geylang Road , that leads westwards towards the city. Micro-businesses founded by Malay, Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs seized start-up opportunities as mechanics in bicycle or motor repair workshops, suppliers of wood for making boats, houses, furniture and as merchants in iron, of floor and roofing tiles, in rubber and later plastics for all kinds of marine, industrial, factory and home use, including
SECTION 10
#1732847824288480-731: The Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean , linking major Asian economies such as India , Thailand , Indonesia , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , Vietnam , China , Japan , Taiwan , and South Korea . The Strait of Malacca is part of the Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast towards the southern tip of India to Mombasa , from there through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to
520-644: The United States Navy destroyer USS John S. McCain lost ten of its crew's lives in a collision with the merchant ship Alnic MC a short distance east of the strait whilst full steering capabilities had been lost. The ship had made a series of errors in attempted mitigation, its external lights being changed to "red over red" ("vessel not under command"). Another risk is the annual haze due to wildfires in Sumatra , Indonesia . It may reduce visibility to 200 metres (660 ft), forcing ships to slow in
560-672: The 1991 Concept Plan. Since implementing these boundaries, other government ministries and departments have increasingly adopted them for administrative purposes. For example, the Statistics Department of Singapore published its 2000 census data based on planning area boundaries for the first time, compared to using census divisions based on electoral boundaries for previous exercises. The Singapore Police Force 's (SPF) neighbourhood police centres have jurisdiction boundaries based on planning area boundaries when they were officially gazetted in 1999, as opposed to electoral divisions under
600-597: The Indian gooseberry tree, and is believed to derive from the local Malay word 'Melaka'. According to historical traditions, Parameswara , a Sumatran prince and the founder of the Malacca Sultanate , selected the site for his new kingdom where the city of Malacca now stands. It is said that he named the location "Melaka" after the Malacca tree under which he had rested. Over time, the name "Malacca" came to refer not only to
640-564: The Malay Peninsula and Java . The empire gained effective control of two major choke points in maritime Southeast Asia: the Strait of Malacca and the Sunda Strait . By launching a series of conquests and raids on potential rival ports on both sides of the strait, Srivijaya ensured its economic and military domination in the region, which lasted about 700 years. Srivijaya gained great benefits from
680-482: The Malay Peninsula such as Langkasuka and Kelantan . After the tenth century, ships from China began to trade at these eastern trading posts and ports. Kedah and Funan were famous ports throughout the 6th century, before shipping began to use the Strait of Malacca itself as a trade route. In the 7th century, the maritime empire of Srivijaya , based in Palembang , Sumatra , rose to power, and its influence expanded to
720-521: The Mediterranean, there to the upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe and the North Sea . Over 94,000 vessels pass through the strait each year (2008) making it the busiest strait in the world, carrying about 25% of the world's traded goods, including oil, Chinese manufactured products, coal, palm oil and Indonesian coffee . About
760-593: The Phillip Channel (close to southern Singapore ). The draught of some of the world's largest ships (mostly oil tankers ) exceeds the Strait's minimum depth of 25 metres (82 feet). This shallow point occurs in the Singapore Strait . The maximum size of a vessel that can pass through the Strait is referred to as the Malaccamax . The next closest passageway to the east, the Sunda Strait between Sumatra and Java,
800-434: The Singapore government as the latter. The following expressways pass through Geylang: Major roads within Geylang Planning Area include Aljunied Road, Kallang Way, Paya Lebar Road, Geylang East Central, Ubi Avenue 2 and Circuit Road. There are eight Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations that serve Geylang Planning Area: Planning Areas of Singapore Planning areas , also known as DGP areas or DGP zones , are
840-479: The area in July ;2004. Subsequently, attacks on ships in the Strait of Malacca dropped, to 79 in 2005 and 50 in 2006. Attacks have dropped to near zero in recent years. There are 34 shipwrecks , some dating to the 1880s, in the local TSS channel (the channel for commercial ships under the global Traffic Separation Scheme ). These pose a collision hazard in the narrow and shallow strait. On 20 August 2017,
SECTION 20
#1732847824288880-538: The busy strait. The strait is frequently used by ships longer than 350 metres (1,150 ft) . Thailand has developed plans to divert much of the strait's traffic and hence some of its economic significance to a shorter route: the Thai government has several times proposed cutting a canal through the Isthmus of Kra , saving around 960 kilometres (600 mi) from the journey between the two oceans. China has offered to cover
920-567: The city but also to the strategically significant waterway between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, known as the Malacca Strait. The International Hydrographic Organization define the limits of the Strait of Malacca as follows: On the west. A line joining Pedropunt , the northernmost point of Sumatra ( 5°40′N 95°26′E / 5.667°N 95.433°E / 5.667; 95.433 ), and Lem Voalan,
960-477: The costs, according to a report leaked to The Washington Times in 2004. Nevertheless, and despite the support of several Thai politicians, the prohibitive financial and ecological costs suggest that the canal will not be built. An alternative is to install a pipeline across the Isthmus of Kra to carry oil to ships waiting on the other side. Proponents calculate it would cut the cost of oil delivery to Asia by about $ 0.50/barrel ($ 3/m ). Myanmar has also made
1000-541: The ear from Geylang. However, kilang also means press, mill, or factory in Malay and could be a reference to the presses and mills in the coconut plantations that used to be in the area. Another possible etymological link in the stock vocabulary of the Malay is geylanggan meaning to "twist" or "crush" a reference to the process of extracting the coconut meat and milk used by the locals to thicken curries in Malay-Chinese ( Peranakan ) cuisine. Another possible explanation
1040-468: The end of Japanese occupation, Geylang Serai saw a rise in population and more areas were occupied. The inflow of more Malays and outflow of Chinese changed the demographic of Geylang Serai, which turned into predominantly a Malay community ever since. 1960s In 1963, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) initiated The Geylang Serai Housing Redevelopment Scheme which was carried out in three phases, investing
1080-542: The intensified urbanisation, the rural community in Geylang Serai, where the price of land was low, was turned into a suburb. 1940s During the occupation by Japanese in World War 2 (1942 to 1945), Geylang Serai was severely damaged, and the shortages of food that arose afterwards led to the replacement of the plantations of coconut and rubber by those of tapioca, which gave Geylang Serai the name, Kampong Ubi (tapioca in Malay). With
1120-433: The lanes in the south are given even numbered names (i.e. Lorong 2, Lorong 4, Lorong 6 and so on). Partly untouched by urban projects and developments and so far spared by the gentrification process that has changed the face of Singapore since the 1970s, Geylang's combination of shophouse scenery and hectic day and night life, including foreign workers quarters and karaoke lounges provides an alternative view of elements
1160-535: The lucrative spice trade, e.g. the tributary trade system with China, and trade with Indian and Arab merchants. The Strait of Malacca became an important maritime trade route between India and China. The importance of the Strait of Malacca in global trade networks continued well into later centuries with the rise of the Malacca Sultanate in the 15th century, the Johor Sultanate , the Straits Settlements , and
1200-408: The main urban planning and census divisions of Singapore delineated by the Urban Redevelopment Authority . There are 55 of these areas, organised into five regions . A Development Guide Plan is then drawn up for each planning area, providing detailed planning guidelines for every plot of land throughout the country. The planning areas were first introduced in the early 1990s after the release of
1240-537: The modern city-state of Singapore . Since the 17th century, the strait has been the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Various major regional powers have managed the straits during different historical periods. From an economic and strategic perspective, the Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. The strait is the main shipping channel between
Geylang - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-454: The mosaic of temples, mosques and churches in Geylang that have its roots serving local worshippers in search of spirituality and the divine. One of the distinctive hallmarks of Geylang architecture is the preservation of its shophouses used by the clan (kinship) associations, set up as a (first) point of contact for newcomers in the migrant wave between 1840 and 1940 for the purpose of integrating
1320-533: The mouth of the Kallang River , home to the Orang Laut (sea gypsies) called orang biduanda kallang who inhabited the area at the time of Raffles' arrival in 1819, and after whom the river is named. Geylang may be a corruption of Kallang. The place name appeared in an 1830 survey map of Singapore as Kilang, but by 1838 was spelled as Kelang, which when pronounced in correct Malay is nearly indistinguishable to
1360-567: The newcomers into the ways and customs of locals. At present, the Geylang neighbourhood accurately reflects demographic changes in Singapore (2011) where out of every four Singaporeans, one is a foreigner. As a strategic and military outpost for the British, it was important that the sea lanes off the Straits of Malacca were kept free of pirates, and open for shipping. As the British expanded in influence and power, Singapore served East and West interests as
1400-467: The north. The southwestern coast of the Malay Peninsula. On the south. The northeastern coast of Sumatra as far to the eastward as Tanjong Kedabu ( 1°06′N 102°58′E / 1.100°N 102.967°E / 1.100; 102.967 ), thence to Klein Karimoen. Early traders from Arabia , Africa , Persia , and southern India reached Kedah before arriving at Guangzhou . Kedah served as
1440-619: The northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, connecting the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean). As the main shipping channel between the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. The name “Malacca” is traditionally associated with the Malacca tree ( Phyllanthus emblica ), also known as
1480-423: The previous neighbourhood Police Post system. Planning areas are further subdivided into 332 subzones for statistical purposes. * = Place names attested to be of Malay origin and referred to similarly in the Malay language. Straits of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 800 kilometres (500 mi) long and from 65 to 250 km (40–155 mi) wide, between the Malay Peninsula to
1520-437: The rest of modern Singapore generally does not have. Shophouses along Geylang Road are protected from redevelopment, and many restaurants have sprung up along this major road. Geylang is also known for its durian shops; as well as many shops offering traditional Malay folk medicine which despite it playing as important of a role as traditional Chinese medicine does not receive as much important attention and endorsement from
1560-712: The southern extremity of Goh Puket [Phromthep Cape on Phuket Island ] in Siam [ Thailand ] ( 7°45′N 98°18′E / 7.750°N 98.300°E / 7.750; 98.300 ). On the east. A line joining Tanjong Piai (Bulus), the southern extremity of the Malay Peninsula ( 1°16′N 103°31′E / 1.267°N 103.517°E / 1.267; 103.517 ), and The Brothers ( 1°11.5′N 103°21′E / 1.1917°N 103.350°E / 1.1917; 103.350 ), and thence to Klein Karimoen ( 1°10′N 103°23.5′E / 1.167°N 103.3917°E / 1.167; 103.3917 ). On
1600-606: Was recognized by the government. Under the Masterplan of 2008 by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the development of the Paya Lebar Central, within which Geylang Serai is situated, into a centre characterised with a distinct cultural identity was confirmed. Until now, Geylang Serai market is still one of the busiest and largest wet markets in Singapore, offering many Indian-Muslim and Malay dishes as well as
#287712