On 10 December 2009, my groupmates and I went to the Fort canning park for our project. The trip wasn't as pleasant as we thought to be, instead it was quite horrible with all the insect bites and the warm weather too. Do bring along insect repellent and a bottle of water to keep yourself hydrated.

Just to share with you guys about a brief history of the site.

Fort canning park is 156 ft high, it is located at the junction of the canning rise and fort canning road. Many historical events had taken place there and till now people still remember them. One of the most significant one is the British decision to surrender Singapore to the Japanese.Many interesting names were given to the site till 1 November 1981, it was then renamed Fort canning park after the commencement ceremony by our Senior Mentor Mr. Lee Kuan Yew.

It was really an eye opener for many of us, as some of my group members have not been to the place before.



The first site we visited was the ASEAN sculputure garden. In fact it took us quite a while to find the place as we are all lost.




The is a picture of the sculpture. It look interesting, isn't it? This sculpture actually carried a significance meaning to all the members of ASEAN. It was made in 1982 and it symbolises unity and alliance among all these ASEAN county. The members include Philippines,Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore. Brunei later added its contribution when it becomes an ASEAN member.

If you are looking for this sculpture, it is better for you to stay along the pathway which is directly outside Fort canning green.



Next up we went to visit the Battle Box. Due to time constraints, we are unable to go into the exhibit but only manage to take a photo of it through the entrance. It was okay, my group members and i have make a pact to visit the place together after our exam.

It must be really interesting as we are captivated by the history of the place.Be sure to be captivated by the history of Singapore after exploring the 9 metres deep underground exhibition.In addition, the new technology advancements, special video and audio effect brings every visitor back to the morning of 12 February 1942.

What are you waiting for? Come down and visit the Battle Box personally! It will definitely be a great experience.


Admission price
Adult S$8.00
Child (12 yeats and below) S$5.00
Local Senior Citizen and Group Fares Available Upon Application

Opening Hours
1000 hrs to 1800 hrs daily
Last admission at 1700 hrs.


I feel that the price of the admission ticket is quite cheap and it is affordable .A tour guide will bring you through the whole exhibition , telling you more about the history and you will not get lost!Therefore it is highly recommended for you to visit the place. Do take note of the last admission hour though.

Just for your information, The Battles Box is directly in front of Fort canning centre.

This is the Fort Gate, which you will be able to find if you take the stair down from the stretch of road from The battle box.

In order to build the Gate, a total of 400 coolies is needed. Within the fort, it includes a hospital, a military unit to store weapons and gunpowder. However due to the construction of a reservoir,what is left today is the adjoining wall and the Sally Port.

Do not be discouraged as you will still be able to enter the gate to have a first hand experience.


This is what we had found in within the gate. It shows and elaborate the history of the gate in different languages. I think it is very useful for the foreigners.



This is the Fort Canning Green and it was an old Christian Cemetery until 1865. This is the entrance of the cemetery and it was designed by Captain Charles Edward Faber, this gate is one of the earliest Gothic Revival work in Singapore.






However this cemetery does not exists anymore but the sense of sadness is still around as through those tomb, it reminds us about the many touching stories of the people who died for Singapore in the past. Beside that, the number of tomb is countless. You can see it everywhere inside the park.

One of the interesting thing in Fort canning park is the 9-pound cannon. It was designed to fired three times a day at 5am, 1pm and 9pm to tell people the time and hour of the day.

Have you thought of why was this cannon created ? Is it because people in the past do not have watches and clock ?

Well, this question set us to ponder for awhile.

The Spice Garden, we are truely amazed by the size of this garden and the variety of flowers they have. It took us a lot of efforts to locate this place as it was quite far from the entrance where we entered near the Fort Canning Centre.

DO YOU KNOW

In 1882, the superintendent of the Royal Gardens visited Singapore and he wrote a letter to Raffles to suggest that a botanical garden can be established in Singapore and in order to see if the garden will work out they experiment the garden in Fort canning park. Therefore this resulted in the birth of the spice garden today.



Pretty isn't it ? Therefore do not forget to bring your camera to capture the beautiful green scenery while uncovering the different type of spices available there. Please note not to litter within the park or try to pluck any of the plants.


Next up we went to the Keramat Iskandar Syah, the name refers to " a holy place", it was believe that it is the resting place of a respectable leader who was the ruler of Singapore in the past.

Some instructions to note before entering the hall.

Do remember to take out your shoes before you enter the hall. This is a form of respect for the Malays.


This was the roof of the hall. Photos are allowed inside.



Do you know
The pillars around the structure was a unique design of the Javanese origin. Do remember to look out for it.


The Archaeological dig and exhibition, we almost miss this place as we thought that the place was a shelter instead of an exhibit. But thanks to Agnes who found this place as she suggested that we should get some rest after walking for more than 2 hours.

Here we are resting. Hahahaha. We are all so tired . We are quite grateful that there is a place like such an exhibit, to have benches around for us to rest.