Jurong Lake Gardens

Jurong Lake Gardens opened in stages from 2019 as the national gardens in the west, built around the lake by naturalising what had been hard-edged waterfront into freshwater swamp and grassland. Within it are the Chinese Garden of 1975, with a seven-storey pagoda and a stone boat, and the Japanese Garden beside it, both restored and reopened after a long closure. Otters, herons and monitor lizards use the water.

Background

The name covers three linked gardens in and around Jurong Lake: the Chinese, Japanese and Lakeside gardens. Woon Wah Siang, chairman of the JTC Corporation, first raised the idea of the Chinese Garden in 1968, when earthworks also began; the design was settled in 1970, building started in 1971 and the 13.5 hectares garden was finished in 1975. The Japanese Garden, also 13.5 hectares, dates from 1974. The 60 hectares Lakeside Garden, open 24 hours, came first as Phase 1 and opened on 27 April 2019. The older gardens closed in May 2019 for renovation and reopened in September 2024. With Gardens by the Bay and the Singapore Botanic Gardens, they count as one of Singapore's national gardens.

Source: Wikipedia, "Jurong Lake Gardens"

The landscape

• The Chinese Garden - a 1975 garden with a seven-storey pagoda and stone boat.
• The Japanese Garden - the restored garden of ponds and stone lanterns beside it.
• The naturalised wetland - restored freshwater swamp along the lake edge.
• The otters - smooth-coated otter families using the lake.

When to go

Year round; early morning and evening are coolest. The gardens are open long hours and are floodlit at night. Afternoon storms are frequent.

Good to know

The site is large and covering it means a lot of walking with limited shade in the newer sections. The Chinese and Japanese gardens keep separate hours. Weekends are crowded.

Nearby

Science Centre Singapore is nearby, and Jurong is west.

Key facts