Yishun


Yishun, formerly known as Nee Soon, is a residential town located in the northeastern corner of the North Region of Singapore, bordering Simpang and Sembawang to the north, Mandai to the west, the Central Water Catchment to its southwest, Ang Mo Kio to its south, as well as Seletar and Sengkang to its east.

Etymology

The name Yishun is a Mandarin romanisation of Lim Nee Soon, a prominent industrialist who made his fortune from the rubber and pineapple plantations he had in the area.
Lim Nee Soon was also a banker, contractor and general commission agent. He was the first general manager of the Bukit Sembawang Rubber Company Limited, formed in 1908. Nee Soon and Company was formed in 1911.
Nee Soon was one of the pioneers that opened up Sembawang. He served on the Rural Board from 1913 to 1921 and was also appointed a Justice of Peace. In the field of education, he was one of the s of Chinese High School and was a member of the Raffles College Committee. Nee Soon Road was officially named in 1950 by the Rural Board to facilitate postal services. Several roads in Yishun are named after his business concerns and family members. Nee Soon was a leading member of the Teochew clan association poit ip huay kwan, and a close friend of Dr Sun Yat Sen.
The name Nee Soon was one of those changed at the height of the campaign to replace dialect names with Mandarin ones. While the government later revoked some of its decisions and reinstated names like Bukit Panjang, Yishun remained unchanged and is now the name attached to streets, roads, parks and many amenities.

Development

Yishun planning area is divided into sub-zones namely Khatib, Lower Seletar, Nee Soon, North Land, Springleaf, Yishun Central, Yishun East, Yishun South and Yishun West.
Springleaf and Nee Soon subzones are private housing estate in Yishun.
The development of Yishun started in 1976 with the first HDB apartments being built at the Chong Pang area. Yishun Neighbourhood 1 was developed in 1981, followed by Neighbourhood 7 and Neighbourhood 2. Neighbourhood 6, 8 and 9 were developed in 1987, together with the Town Centre. Neighbourhood 3 and 4 followed slightly later in 1992. Construction of Neighbourhood 5 was started in 2009 and was completed in 2015. Within the Yishun vicinity, 8 of its neighbourhoods are allocated for construction of HDB apartments namely Yishun Neighbourhood 1, Yishun Neighbourhood 2, Yishun Neighbourhoods 3, 4 and 5, Yishun Neighbourhood 6 and 9, Yishun Neighbourhood 7, and Yishun Neighbourhood 8.

Amenities

Shopping Malls

Chinese Temples

Initially named Northern General Hospital, the new general hospital was named Khoo Teck Puat Hospital after receiving a S$125 million donation from the late Mr Khoo's family. Spanning over 3.5 hectares in the Yishun Central Area, the 590-bed general and acute care hospital is managed by Alexandra Health System. Opened in June 2010, KTPH offers a comprehensive range of medical services and specialist care to the community in the north. It overlooks the scenic Yishun Pond.
Yishun Polyclinic was located at 30 Yishun Central beside Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and is managed by National Healthcare Group Polyclinic. It moved to a new location opposite Nee Soon East Community Club in 2018.
The new Yishun Community Hospital with about 425 beds provides sub-acute, rehabilitative, dementia and palliative care for patients. Opened in December 28, 2015, YCH receives post-surgical, post-stroke patients and patients who are recovering from medical illnesses/trauma from the neighbouring Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, other acute hospitals and nursing homes.
Currently, the Yishun estate is well served by the Yishun Polyclinic as well as many private medical clinics and dental clinics situated at void decks

Country Clubs

Bus Interchange

Yishun Integrated Transport Hub

The old Yishun Bus Interchange was built in 1987 and was closed on 14 March 2015 serving 28 years of service to Singapore residents so as to make way for Northpoint City. The Yishun Temporary Bus Interchange was later opened at a land parcel adjacent to Golden Village Yishun. This interchange operated throughout the construction of the Integrated Transport Hub where it was being built at the old site of the Yishun Bus Interchange. On 8 September 2019, the newly constructed air-conditioned Yishun Integrated Transport Hub officially opened its doors facilitating the integration of Yishun Bus Interchange, Northpoint City, North Park Residences, Nee Soon Central Community Club and Yishun MRT station.

Mass Rapid Transit Stations

Yishun MRT station

Yishun MRT station is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit station on the North South line in Yishun, Singapore. The station used to be the terminus of the line between 1988 and 1996 until the North South line Woodlands Extension was completed and opened on 10 February 1996. But currently, certain train services would terminate at this station for the short trip between Yishun and Marina South Pier, which only operates during morning peak hours and early evening hours for weekdays, and late evening hours on all days.

Khatib MRT station

Located south of Yishun MRT station on the North South line, it was formerly named Nee Soon South MRT station, it was renamed to Khatib on January 1987 after Sungei Khatib, a river nearby, and a military base nearby, along with Yishun MRT station which was initially named Nee Soon.

Springleaf MRT station

is on the Thomson–East Coast MRT line and would be located next to the row of 2-storey shophouses along Upper Thomson Road. When completed, this station will serve the nearby housing estate of Springside and Nee Soon army camp. The tracks between this station and Woodlands South are the longest on the Line.

Parks, Gardens and other Recreational Facilities

3 major parks:
Small Parks:
Yishun Park Connector:
Located at the Southern end of the town, the Yishun Stadium was opened on 2 January 1992. In 1993, it played host to the Karate event during the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore. In 1996, it was the home ground for the Sembawang Rangers FC in the S-league. Eventually the team was dropped from the league in 2003. Later on, it hosted the Young Lions in 2005 season, Sporting Afrique FC in 2006 season and currently it is the home for Korean Super Reds FC for the 2007 season. Other than the main stadia with the soccer field and 8-lanes running track, it also houses a ClubFitt gym. The sport hall seats 800 people and it can be use for badminton, basketball or other indoor sports. In 2020, Yishun Sports Hall will be undergoing upgrading works. It will have two covered tennis and multi-sport courts, new cafeteria, air-conditioned table tennis area, a bigger dance studio and bigger gym.
Opened in 1988, it has a competition pool, a children pool and a training pool. Together with Yishun Sports Hall, it will be undergoing upgrading works in 2020.
The Nee Soon Sports Centre, managed by FutsalArena, is envisioned to be the hub for healthy-lifestyle activities. Built amidst lush greenery surrounding Yishun Pond, the Sports Centre is located just two-minutes away from Yishun Bus Interchange by foot. Its proximity makes it extremely accessible to Yishun residents as well as futsal enthusiasts from other parts of Singapore. The Arena has 5 futsal courts and 3 basketball courts. It operates from 9am to 1am daily.

Industrial Park

The Yishun Industrial Park is a small industrial park situated between Avenues 6 and 7 which comprises some well known companies such as Murata, Philips Lumileds, Agilent, Avago Technologies, ATS, ASM-Frontend, STATS, Inc. and many other smaller companies. Commercial buildings like A’Posh Bizhub, Northpoint Bizhub, North Spring Bizhub, YS- One and North View Bizhub can be found at the Yishun Industrial Park. It can be reached by Bus service 811 from the Yishun Bus Interchange.

Educational Institutions

There are 10 primary schools, 9 secondary schools, a junior college, Yishun Junior College, and an International School, Gems World Academy

Politics

Yishun was a large, single-member constituency starting in Seletar but later hived into Sembawang and along with a dedicated namesake Nee Soon SMC on later years. When the GRC scheme was introduced in 1988, its population size was enough to form into Ang Mo Kio and Sembawang GRC, as well as two smaller SMCs. By 2011, Nee Soon had its dedicated GRC spanning most of Yishun.
The entire Yishun was helmed by the current ruling party, People's Action Party on its lifetime except on years between 1963 and 1968 where it was helmed by Barisan Sosialis, a party formed from a fraction of former PAP members, and from 1991 to 1997 with ex-Singapore Democratic Party member Cheo Chai Chen. Notable members of parliament that oversees the Yishun area also include current Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, current Education Minister Ong Ye Kung and Derrick Goh, and Carrie Tan.
Outside of politics, a member of parliament and is the 8th and current President of Singapore, Halimah Yacob, was a resident of Yishun. Hui Shiu-hung, a veteran Hong Kong actor, was also a resident.