NParks completes Jurong Lake Gardens with opening of rejuvenated Chinese and Japanese Gardens

- Chinese and Japanese Gardens, along with Lakeside Garden, complete the 90 ha Jurong Lake Gardens, Singapore’s first national gardens in the heartlands

- Greater variety of recreational offerings for visitors, with new features added and familiar landmarks retained

- Largest edition of Lights by the Lake will be held at the Gardens, with two weeks of dazzling lantern displays and vibrant programming for the community

- Commemorative stamps showcasing the Gardens’ iconic features will be launched by SingPost

Singapore, 8 September 2024 – The National Parks Board (NParks) opened the rejuvenated Chinese and Japanese Gardens today, marking the completion of the development of Jurong Lake Gardens – Singapore’s first national gardens in the heartlands. Chinese and Japanese Gardens, along with Lakeside Garden, are the three gardens that make up the 90 ha Gardens.

With the rejuvenation of Chinese and Japanese Gardens now complete, visitors can enjoy a refreshed array of features and amenities, including new floral and aquatic gardens, visitor pavilions and galleries, as well as recreational and community spaces nestled within a scenic lakeside setting. At the same time, several familiar landmarks and features at both gardens have been retained or enhanced for new uses, following feedback by the public supporting their preservation. In all, the completion of the Gardens expands the variety of nature-based experiences for visitors of all ages, further realising its vision of being a people’s garden.

Furthermore, the Gardens brings to fruition larger plans to ensure green spaces are within easy reach and further integrated into our urban landscape, providing a healthy living environment in our City in Nature.

In conjunction with the opening of Chinese and Japanese Gardens, the largest edition of Lights by the Lake will be held at the Gardens from 8 to 22 September 2024. For the first time since the opening of Lakeside Garden in 2019, the festivities will extend beyond Lakeside Garden to Chinese and Japanese Gardens, offering an exciting slate of activities and programmes at each of the three gardens, such as lantern displays, light shows, cultural performances and the NParks Concert Series in the Park: Rockestra.

To commemorate the occasion, the Guest-of-Honour Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong unveiled a commemorative plaque and planted a Syzygium aqueum tree during the opening event earlier today. He was hosted by Minister for National Development and Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration Desmond Lee, and joined by Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu, and Advisers from Chua Chu Kang GRC, Jurong GRC, West Coast GRC, Bukit Batok SMC, Hong Kah North SMC, Pioneer SMC and Yuhua SMC.

Rejuvenation of Chinese and Japanese Gardens

Built in the mid-1970s, Chinese and Japanese Gardens are deeply steeped in heritage. In 2014, it was announced that both gardens would be combined with Jurong Lake Park (now known as Lakeside Garden) to form Jurong Lake Gardens, and serve as the centrepiece of modern Jurong. Following extensive public consultation, rejuvenation works began in 2019 to sensitively enhance Chinese and Japanese Gardens, while preserving their natural ambience and distinctive cultural character. Tropical horticulture was another key focus, with the landscaping and planting palette carefully curated to bring out the colours and textures of the tropics.

Chinese Garden

Familiar landmarks that are synonymous with Chinese Garden, such as the Grand Arch, Cloud Pagoda, Twin Pagoda, Bonsai Garden, Stoneboat and Tea Pavilion, have been retained and spruced up with verdant landscaping and new amenities such as the Jurong Lake Gardens Gallery and Bonsai Gallery.

Furthermore, visitors can explore various newly added features, including the Cascading Creek, a riverine habitat with a boardwalk to showcase the different flora and fauna found along the river of a typical Southeast Asian forest, Water Wall Court, a serene courtyard enveloped by 3 m-high waterfalls, and Harvest Moon Terrace, which mirrors the Silver Moon Terrace at Japanese Garden across the lake, and features picturesque waterfront cabanas adorned with lanterns that are lit nightly.  

The addition of the new Pagoda Plaza and Ficus Lawn also provides more open spaces for community events and gatherings amidst nature.

Japanese Garden

Highlights at the rejuvenated Japanese Garden include new curated gardens that interweave greenery with waterscapes, such as the Water Lily Garden, which houses the largest collection of water lilies in Singapore, and Sunken Garden, a valley-like garden with vertical green walls and a cenote[1]-inspired water feature.

Visitors can get closer to nature by venturing through a rustic trail lined with seasonal flowering trees at the Floral Ridge, or immersing themselves in the tranquillity of a Japanese-inspired garden at the Floral Garden.

Japanese Garden also has a variety of indoor and sheltered spaces suitable for large-scale and intimate events, such as the Guesthouse, a multi-purpose hall made of mass-engineered timber that can accommodate up to 1,000 people, as well as the adjacent Guest Pavilion and Teahouse. Visitors can also retreat to the Breathing Gallery, an indoor vivarium[2] showcasing terrestrial and aquatic species in terrariums, aquariums and paludariums.  

Altogether, the rejuvenated Chinese and Japanese Gardens will complement Lakeside Garden’s existing offerings, providing the public with even more recreational options within the first national gardens in the heartlands.

New and existing features at the Gardens commemorated in SingPost stamp series

Singapore Post Limited (SingPost) will be launching the Jurong Lake Gardens stamp series, which showcases four new and existing features at the Gardens – the Grand Arch at Chinese Garden, Water Lily Garden and Guesthouse at Japanese Garden, and Rasau Walk at Lakeside Garden. 

From 9 September 2024, members of the public can purchase the Jurong Lake Gardens stamp series at the General Post Office, all philatelic stores and online at: shop.singpost.com.

Continued focus on sustainability

The rejuvenated Chinese and Japanese Gardens continue the Garden’s emphasis on sustainability, with solutions that contribute towards greener outcomes and efficient operations. These include using environmentally sensitive materials such as mass-engineered timber and carbon dioxide mineralised concrete, leveraging nature-based solutions such as detention ponds for irrigation, and implementing a smart water management system that helps clean and restore water.

The second phase of the Gardens’ development, which encompasses Chinese and Japanese Gardens as well as the northern section of Lakeside Garden, has achieved the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark 2021 Platinum Super Low Energy certification for its best-in-class energy efficiency and use of intelligent energy management strategies.

This green push is in line with the Singapore Green Plan 2030, a nationwide movement that charts Singapore’s sustainable development.

Shaping a people’s garden through community involvement

The community played a key role in the rejuvenation of Chinese and Japanese Gardens, which saw contributions from a diverse range of stakeholders. During NParks’ public engagement exercise from November 2016 to April 2017, over 14,000 suggestions were gathered for Jurong Lake Gardens Central (now known as Chinese and Japanese Gardens) and East, and incorporated into their design where feasible. NParks also took into consideration suggestions from industry stakeholders and practitioners on how best to sensitively carry out the rejuvenation works.

Various features within Chinese and Japanese Gardens also exemplify community stewardship. For instance, at the Floral Garden at Japanese Garden, NParks also worked with JTC to develop the design concept and partnered students from the ITE College East, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic, as well as volunteers from Friends of Jurong Lake Gardens to design and co-create five community plots.

In addition, residents, volunteers from Friends of Jurong Lake Gardens and Nature Kakis Network, and donors contributed to the greening of Chinese and Japanese Gardens by supporting tree planting efforts on site, which also furthers the OneMillionTrees movement to plant one million more trees throughout the island.

Furthermore, the strong support of donors has been key in helping the Gardens take shape. A key partner is Tote Board, who enabled the development of key features across the Gardens through its funding support, including SkatePark @ Lakeside Garden, the Ficus Lawn at Chinese Garden, and the Guesthouse and Teahouse at Japanese Garden. Additionally, Micron Technology donated S$1 million through the Garden City Fund, NParks’ registered charity and IPC, towards supporting the Gardens’ sustainability efforts through the implementation of a smart water management system that helps clean and restore the water in the Water Lily Garden and the larger Japanese Garden. Donations from Mr Jimmy Koh and Mr Han Jok Kwang also contributed towards the development of Chinese and Japanese Gardens.

Largest edition of Lights by the Lake, with over 300 lanterns on display

From 8 to 22 September 2024, the third and largest edition of Lights by the Lake will be held at the Gardens, with the festivities spanning Chinese and Japanese Gardens as well as Lakeside Garden. Hand-crafted lanterns depicting Chinese folklore and the Gardens’ biodiversity will be displayed and lit at night, with over 300 lanterns in total – the most number of lanterns displayed to date.

Visitors of all ages can look forward to a myriad of exciting activities and programmes, including dazzling light shows, movie screenings, cultural performances, funfair games and a food market. As part of the festivities, the NParks Concert Series in the Park: Rockestra will also return to the Gardens for the first time since 2019, with a medley of popular Mandarin, English and hits performed by local artistes.

Lights by the Lake 2024 will feature activities in support of the President’s Challenge this year. To support the President’s Challenge, members of the public can purchase 3D-printed souvenirs, floating water lanterns and solar-powered tulips, which will be available for sale at the festival. All proceeds will go to the President’s Challenge Charity Fund.

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[1] Cenote – A deep natural well or sinkhole, formed by the collapse of surface limestone that exposes groundwater underneath. 

[2] Vivarium – An enclosed area where plants and animals are kept under conditions that simulate their natural ecosystem.