LENSES

Chai Chee   by zhangtianyu

Etymology and early history

In Chinese (in the Hokkien dialect), Chai Chee may be translated to mean Vegetable Market (). Before the estate was built, the area was primarily farmland over a series of rolling hills. The kampong, or village, was located on a high hill around where the Singapore Anti-tuberculosis Association Clinic now stands. Before, one needs to go downhill to reach the clinic. Today the clinic sits much higher than the surrounding areas after the hills were levelled.

The area got its name as farmers would gather there daily to sell their produce. A thriving community soon evolved and Chai Chee became a focal point for the kampong residents there. When development began in the late 1960s, the estate was built originally with 40 blocks of flats, comprising mainly of rental units. It was the first Housing and Development Board estate to be built on the eastern part of Singapore. Community amenities were built, such as a market, food centre, shops, banks, library, community center, kindergarten and a bus terminus. To provide for employment, there were 3 factories built – Rollei Cameras, Varta Batteries and Nippon Miniature Bearing (NMB).

Chai Chee Estate quickly gained importance as it was then the only urban estate in the mainly rural part of eastern Singapore. In the early 1970s, the electoral division of Chai Chee stretches all the way southwards to Upper East Coast Road. This led to the naming of the school there as Chai Chee Secondary School, even though today that area is no longer part of Chai Chee Estate.

Chai Chee Neighbourhood

HDB flats in Chai Chee estate.

Today, Chai Chee has been redeveloped and expanded into a modern housing estate. Most of the old rental blocks have been torn down and replaced with larger, purchased dwellings. There are now primary and secondary schools, a vocational institute, mosque and church. Two large industrial areas house many multinational firms. One of the industrial area was redeveloped on the site of the former Rollei and Varta factories. Chai Chee Bus Terminus was closed and services moved to Bedok Bus Interchange. On its site now stands some new high-rise residential blocks. With the rise of Bedok New Town, most of the hustle and bustle of town life naturally moved to Bedok Central, and the neighbourhood seemed to have reverted back to the laid-back, rural charm of the old kampong days.

Transportation

The neighbourhood is served by two feeder bus services from Bedok Bus Interchange, SBS Transit 222 and 229, while major trunk services ply along New Upper Changi Road at the southern perimeter and Bedok North Road at the northern side.

Education institutions

East Coast Primary School

Ping Yi Secondary School

ITE College Central (Bedok Campus)

Places of Worship

Masjid Al-Ansar

Bethesda Cathedral

v  d  e

Places in Singapore by region

Central

Alexandra  Ayer Rajah  Balestier Road  Bartley  Bishan  Bugis  Bukit Chandu  Bukit Ho Swee  Bukit Merah  Bukit Purmei  Bukit Timah  Buona Vista  Caldecott Hill  Central Area  Chinatown  Commonwealth  Dhoby Ghaut  Dover  Emerald Hill  Esplanade  Farrer Park  HarbourFront  Holland Village  Jalan Besar  Kampong Glam  Kent Ridge  Kolam Ayer  Kim Seng  Little India  MacPherson  Marina Bay  Marina Centre  Marina East  Marina South  Marymount  Mount Faber  Mount Vernon  Museum  Newton  Novena  One-North  Orchard Road  Outram  Pasir Panjang  Potong Pasir  Rochor  Queenstown  Radin Mas  Raffles Place  River Valley  Shenton Way  Sin Ming  Singapore River  Southern Islands  St. Michael’s  Tanjong Pagar  Tanjong Rhu  Tanglin  Telok Ayer  Telok Blangah  Thomson  Tiong Bahru  Toa Payoh  Whampoa

East

Aljunied  Bedok  Bedok Reservoir  Chai Chee  Changi  Changi Bay  Changi East  Changi Village  East Coast  Eunos  Geylang  Joo Chiat  Kaki Bukit  Katong  Kallang  Kembangan  Pasir Ris (Lorong Halus  Loyang)  Marine Parade  Mountbatten  Paya Lebar  Siglap  Simei  Tampines  Tanah Merah   Ubi 

North

Admiralty  Central Catchment Nature Reserve  Chong Pang  Kranji  Lim Chu Kang  Mandai  Marsiling  Neo Tiew  Sembawang  Senoko  Simpang  Sungei Gedong  Sungei Kadut  Woodlands  Yishun

North-East

Ang Mo Kio (Planning Area)  Hougang (Defu  Kovan)  Kebun Baru  Lorong Chuan  North-Eastern Islands  Punggol (Punggol Point)  Seletar  Sengkang (Buangkok  Jalan Kayu )  Serangoon (Serangoon Gardens  Serangoon North)  Yio Chu Kang

West

Benoi  Boon Lay  Bukit Batok  Bukit Gombak  Bukit Panjang  Choa Chu Kang  Clementi  Gul  Hillview  Joo Koon  Jurong (Jurong East  Jurong West)  Lok Yang  Murai  Nanyang  Pandan Gardens  Pasir Laba  Pioneer  Pioneer Sector  Sarimbun  Taman Jurong  Teban Gardens  Tengah  Toh Tuck  Tuas  Tuas South  Wenya  West Coast  Western Islands  Western Water Catchment  Yew Tee

Categories: Places in Singapore | BedokHidden categories: Singapore articles missing geocoordinate data | All articles needing coordinates

About the Author

I am a professional editor from Chinese Manufacturers,
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This entry was posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 4:48 pm and is filed under OPTICS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.