Orchard Road | |
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Name transcription(s) | |
• Chinese | |
• Pinyin | Wūjíe-lù |
• Malay | Jalan Kebun (or Jalan Orkid) |
• Tamil | ஓர்ச்சர்ட் சாலை |
Location of Orchard Road within Singapore | |
Coordinates: 1°18′17.433″N 103°49′54.56″E / 1.30484250°N 103.8318222°ECoordinates: 1°18′17.433″N 103°49′54.56″E / 1.30484250°N 103.8318222°E | |
Country | Singapore |
Government | |
• Ruling parties |
People's Action Party (part of Tanjong Pagar GRC) |
Area | |
• Total | 0.90 km2 (0.35 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 1,600 |
Orchard Road | |||||||||||
The flower zone of Orchard Road
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Simplified Chinese | 乌节路 | ||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 烏節路 | ||||||||||
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Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Wūjié Lù |
Southern Min | |
Hokkien POJ | O͘-cha̍t Lo͘ |
Orchard Road, a 2.2 kilometre-long boulevard, is the retail and entertainment hub of Singapore. Often known colloquially as Orchard, the area is a major tourist attraction. It is also known as Tang Leng Pa Sat Koi (Tanglin Market Street) and Vaira Kimadam (Fakir's Place) by the Singaporean Chinese and Singaporean Tamils respectively.
The Orchard Planning Area is a planning area as specified by the Urban Redevelopment Authority. It is part of the Central Area located within the Central Region. Orchard is bordered by Newton in the east and north, Tanglin in the west, River Valley in the south and Museum to the southeast.
Orchard Road underwent a $40 million revamp in 2009, with the addition of new street lamps, planter boxes, urban green rooms, street tiling and flower totem poles, which have since been removed.
Orchard Road got its name from the nutmeg, pepper and fruit orchards or the plantations that the road once led to. Such plantations were common in the area in the 19th century. Other sources attribute the name to Mr Orchard, a gardener and the owner of plantations which were located at the corner of present-day Scotts Road and Orchard Road.
The Orchard Road area was also known to Chinese Singaporeans as Tang Leng Pa Sat Koi or "Tanglin Market Street". The Tamil people in Singapore gave the area the name Vaira Kimadam or "Fakir's Place". They also called the area Muttu Than (High Ground), in a reference to the area's hilly terrain.