Goh Chor Tua Peh Kong Temple


Goh Chor Tua Peh Kong Temple

This temple was named Goh Chor as it is the Hokkien transliteration of Rochore which is the name of the surrounding area in the mid 19th century, while Tua Pek Kong is a Taoist deity widely worshiped by Chinese across Southeast Asia.

Built in the southern Chinese style, the low, tiled roof features dragons, birds, fish, blazing pearls, phoenixes and flowers which are all oriental in nature and show case the skilled workman ship of the locals as each are carefully handcrafted.

 Three Stone plaques record the history of the temple from the Chinese Emporer Dao guang's reign all the way till the subsequent renovations in 1920 and 1928.

 A look inside the temple:



Chinese Opera:


An interesting preservation of a dying art form is also seen here in the form of Chinese opera.This free standing Chinese opera or Wayang stage was one of two surviving stages that was built in 1906 by Tan Boon Liat. Teochew and Hokkien operas are still performed here during important festivals.

As I saw this stage, it brought up many memories of when I was young and my grandparents would take me out during certain festivals to watch such performances and I remembered how I would always refuse to leave in anticipation of more. With time , such simple joys in life seemingly disappear and the appreciation of such a culture would slowly but surely cease to exist.This is a place we would surely visit again during our holidays as such places remind us that life is not just about doing well in your studies but also about enjoying the process leading up towards it too.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Single Storey Shophouses #601-639

Image
Single Storey Shophouses #601-639 Such Single-storey buildings were found in many parts of pre-1965 Singapore, especially in the suburban and rural areas. They were built by early developers for sale as shops and homes for new settlers from the rural areas who were told to leave their rural areas for urban developments. Though these shophouses were some of the earliest buildings to be constructed, the architects had seen the need to integrate some designs in the form of Art Deco pediment above the five-foot way to make it more aesthetically inclined. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has made conservation efforts to these buildings by prohibiting any alterations to these buildings. We have heard about the famous 'Tau Sar Piah' shop which was situated at one end of the stretch of shophouses. However we did not know that along that stretch alone, there were 4 Tau Sar Piah shops! Despite the choices of shops available, consumers still chose to flood the shop at ...
Read more

Balestier point

Image
Balestier point As we continued our trail we ended up at Balestier point, at first glance it looked like an unattractive and rundown mall with little attractiveness to anyone due to its simplistic architecture but little did we know the rich history behind it. Balestier point cost  $35 million dollars for construction and exist both as a residential area while also being mall at the same time. It serves as the homes for 68 families which consist of both two to three rooms flats and also for 62 commercial businesses. The simple facade upon closer inspection took an entirely different view.The simplistic designs were merely a but one perspective of the entire building which consist of lego like blocks that constituted the core of the building.The lego like blocks were seemingly "stacked"on top of each other to form the building which greatly contrasted to the surrounding building who were largely still simplistic in its design during this period of time. The i...
Read more

Lam Yeo Coffee Powder

Image
The traditional coffee culture is one that has passed its heyday in Singapore. Increasingly, the younger generation choose to flock to chains such as Starbucks for their caffeine fix. Kopi O Siu Dai is quickly giving way to Non Fat Hazelnut Latte as the dominant choice of coffee beverage today. The above example might be an exaggeration, but it certainly reflects the current trend we see today. Lam Yeo Coffee Powder is one of the last surviving family run traditional coffee roasters in Singapore. Traditionally, Singaporean coffee powder is differentiated only by price, as seen in the picture below. Each price contains a different blend of various coffee beans. Customers order it by just stating the weight they want and the price of the coffee beans. For example, "$10.50, 400 grams". This is the opposite of gourmet coffee beans which has names such as Arabica and Robusta. However, to adapt to the changing clientele, they have also included modern gourmet coffee in their vari...
Read more