Some may think Ho Ching Road in Jurong West is named after Ho Ching, wife of Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, but the road actually got its name from somewhere else.
In a video uploaded on Saturday (April 18), urban planning and heritage content creator Yong, who goes by Urbanist.Singapore on social media, explained the origins of the road’s name.
“Ho Ching” is the romanisation for the Chinese words “he jing” — river scenery, he said.
In the same area, there is also Hu Ching Road — lake scenery.
These two roads are part of a renaming initiative by JTC Corporation in 1970, where numbered roads in Taman Jurong received “poetic Chinese-themed names”.
Even-numbered roads were renamed with “ching” in their names, and odd-numbered roads were renamed with “yung”, which means “eternal”.
@urbanist.singapore You see “Ho Ching Road” and your brain goes 👀 But plot twist, it is not named after Mdm Ho Ching. It comes from 河景 (hé jǐng) which means river scenery. And once you notice that, a whole naming pattern in Taman Jurong starts to appear: 🌿 Ching / 景 roads = scenery names ✨ Yung / 永 roads = “eternal” names So yes, this is a road sign video. But also… a mini lesson in how Singapore planned, named, and imagined a housing estate beside heavy industry. 🏙️🌱 Taman Jurong may look everyday, but the street names are doing a lot of storytelling. #TheUrbanistSingapore #TamanJurong #SGHeritage #PropertyGuru @PropertyGuru
♬ original sound – Yong | The Urbanist Singapore – Yong | The Urbanist Singapore
Ho Ching Road was formerly Taman Jurong 8, and Hu Ching Road was Taman Jurong 4.
Other “ching” road names in the area include Yuan Ching Road, Tao Ching Road, Kang Ching Road and Shan Ching Road, which translate to: garden scenery, island scenery, hill scenery and mountain scenery, respectively.
On the other hand, “yung” roads in the area include: Yung An Road, Yung Sheng Road, Yung Loh Road, Yung Kuang Road, Yung Ping Road and Yung Ho Road. These translate to eternal peace, rising, happiness, light, peace and harmony respectively.
Taman Jurong is a residential estate in Jurong West.
It was first developed in 1964 to house industrial workers and their families in the area, and houses several landmarks such as the diamond-shaped HDB blocks and Jurong Lake Gardens.
@asiaone Have you ever wondered how Taman Jurong got its name? TamanJurong Jurong Singapore History RoadRoots
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carol.ong@asiaone.com
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