Toa Payoh Heritage Trail – Of Faiths & Beliefs

This is a self-guided trail.

Completed in 1909, Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery is the oldest Buddhist monastery in Singapore and includes the Hall of Celestial Kings and Mahavira Hall, which were collectively gazetted as a National Monument in 1980. The monastery compound also houses Shuang Lin Cheng Huang Temple, which is a Taoist temple managed by the Buddhist monks of the monastery.

Completed in 1909, Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery is the oldest Buddhist monastery in Singapore and includes the Hall of Celestial Kings and Mahavira Hall, which were collectively gazetted as a National Monument in 1980. The monastery compound also houses Shuang Lin Cheng Huang Temple, which is a Taoist temple managed by the Buddhist monks of the monastery.

Originally located along Orchard Road, Sri Vairavimada Kaliamman Temple relocated to Toa Payoh in 1982. The temple’s primary deity is Kali, whose sculpture occupies the central position in the temple’s majestic gopuram (entrance tower).

Completed in 1974, United Five Temples of Toa Payoh houses five temples founded during Toa Payoh's kampong past. This Taoist temple was the first in Singapore to bring together temples from different Chinese dialect groups and enshrining different deities within one compound.

Toa Payoh Seu Teck Sean Tong enshrines Song Da Feng as its primary deity and has practiced Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian traditions since its establishment in 1942. It also includes a facility that houses ancestral tablets and a Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic which provides free medical care to all, regardless of race or religion.

Toa Payoh Seu Teck Sean Tong enshrines Song Da Feng as its primary deity and has practiced Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian traditions since its establishment in 1942. It also includes a facility that houses ancestral tablets and a Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic which provides free medical care to all, regardless of race or religion.

Opened in 1977, Masjid Muhajirin was the first to be built with support from the community and the Mosque Building Fund, which comprises contributions from working Muslims across Singapore.

Opened in 1977, Masjid Muhajirin was the first to be built with support from the community and the Mosque Building Fund, which comprises contributions from working Muslims across Singapore.

Toa Payoh Chinese Methodist Church has its roots in a free clinic and kindergarten established by a group of Christians in the late 1960s. The church building was constructed in 1973 using funds raised by the Methodist community.

Since the kampong past of Toa Payoh, the banyan tree where the Tree Shrine at Block 177 is located has been regarded as sacred. Today, the shrine is dedicated to the Taoist deities Tian Gong, Guan Yin, Datuk Kong and Tua Pek Kong.

From its kampong past to the present, religious institutions have been an enduring presence in Toa Payoh. This trail takes you to the temples, mosques, churches and institutions that represent the diverse communities which lived, worked and worshipped in Toa Payoh.

Explore the Suggested Short Trail Routes:

Of Public Housing & Shared Spaces, 1.5 hours on foot (4.5 km)
Of Community Institutions & Common Spaces, 0.5 hours on foot (1.5 km)

Downloads

You May Also Like

Coconut trees

Wife of a British policeman who was posted to Singapore during the Malayan Emergency

Digging Up History: Dr John Miksic

Hazel Locke (née Hazel Olive Johannes)

Toa Payoh Heritage Trail – Of Public Housing & Shared Spaces

Toa Payoh Heritage Trail – Of Community Institutions & Common Spaces

Arts and Culture Employment Study 2016

Singapore Cultural Statistics

The Lives of Farrer Park: Capturing Moments and memories from the Golden Age of Singapore Sport

Grave Matters: Spatial-temporal Analyses of Bukit Brown and Seh Ong Cemeteries