The National Parks Board (NParks) has opened nine historical gardens in Fort Canning Park. In a release, NParks noted that historical texts were used to curate and restore the gardens. They include – the Sang Nila Utama Garden, Raffles Garden, Spice Garden and Artisan’s Garden.
Accompanying these gardens are updated trail and wayfinding guides that allow visitors to plan their own route and experience the parks at their own pace.
The existing 19th and 14th-century heritage trails have also been updated and re-curated to reflect Fort Canning Park’s rich history.
NParks has strived to make each garden represent a facet of Singaporean life and history.
The First Botanic Garden, for example, has enhanced streetscapes reflecting crops introduced to Singapore during the early colonial era, while the Armenian Street Park has a planting scheme paying homage to the Peranakan culture via spices used in Peranakan cooking.
On the other hand, the Spice Garden features spice-inspired plantings in a series of restored plantations and cascading terraces.
Further enhancing connectivity and accessibility to the park, a platform lift and two stretches of covered escalators have been installed to allow visitors with seniors, young children and the disabled, to access Fort Canning Centre via Jubilee Park, and Fort Canning Park from Farquhar Garden.
The connections also allow easier access from City Hall, Bras Basah and Fort Canning MRT stations to Fort Canning Centre.
NParks, in collaboration with NHB, also launched the augmented reality (AR) trail named “BALIKSG: Fort Canning Trail”.
The first phase covers the experience of going along the Singaporean River, while the second phase is an interactive experience through Fort Canning Park, during a time when it was still known as Government Hill or Bukit Larangan.
During Fort Canning Park’s opening, Minister for National Development and Second Minster for Finance Lawrence Wong revealed that the second phase of Fort Canning Hill’s masterplan is expected to be completed by 2021.
“NParks will be completing the restoration of Jubilee Park, rejuvenating the space for events and introducing a nature playgarden,” said the release.
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
