Kim Lan Beo Temple, Singapore新加坡金兰庙

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

Singapore · Singapore · Tiong Bahru · Original site: Yan Kit Road, Tanjong Pagar; relocated to Kim Tian Road in 1984

First built

c. 1830 · Founding given as either 1830 or 1839; the original site was in Tanjong Pagar, later demolished due to urban redevelopment

Overview

Kim Lan Beo Temple was built by the Hokkien community; its founding is dated variously to 1830 or 1839, making it one of the oldest surviving Chinese temples in Singapore. The temple's name, 'Kim Lan' ('gold and orchid'), carries the meaning of sworn brotherhood, reflecting its early associations with secret societies — nineteenth-century Chinese temples in Singapore often doubled as venues for community association meetings and dispute mediation, and this temple is a clear example. Among its successive directors were Hokkien community leaders such as Lim Boon Keng and Seet Chung Wah. From 1960 it came under the management of the Hokkien Huay Kuan; its original site was on Yan Kit Road in Tanjong Pagar, and after demolition due to urban redevelopment it was rebuilt and completed on Kim Tian Road in Tiong Bahru in 1984. Its principal and subsidiary deities are drawn mainly from Southern Fujian (Minnan) popular religion. This temple belongs to the category of native-place community popular-religion temples, and is not part of an organized Daoist order.

Highlights

• One of the oldest Chinese temples in Singapore (c. 1830)
• Its name reflects its early origins in sworn brotherhoods and associations
• Hokkien community leaders such as Lim Boon Keng and Seet Chung Wah served as directors
• Came under Hokkien Huay Kuan management in 1960, and relocated to Tiong Bahru in 1984