First announced in May 1982 as Jurong Lake station, it was to be constructed as part of Phase II of the MRT system. The name was later changed in 1984 to better reflect its location. It commenced operations on 5 November 1988 along with the other stations of Phase II. When it opened, the station lacked direct access to Chinese Garden despite being next to it, as well as to the opposite side of the road where most of its commuters lived. Both issues were fixed within a few years. Accessibility enhancements were completed in July 2011 as well as additional bicycle parking facilities in October 2012. Half-height platform screen doors and high-volume low-speed fans were installed by August 2011 and the first quarter of 2013, respectively.
As a feature of the station, the curved roof supported by decorative red and green beams took inspiration from traditional Chinese architecture. Additionally, there are four paintings created by students from the Yuan Ching Secondary School that feature traditional Chinese cultural icons, which are displayed at the ticketing concourse as part of SMRT's Community Outreach Programme.
History
Chinese Garden station was first included in the early plans of the MRT system as Jurong Lake station in May 1982.[2] It was later announced to be part of Phase II of the MRT in October 1983.[3] On September of 1984, the station's name was changed to Chinese Garden station to better reflect its location.[4]
Several joint ventures between companies were prequalified for Contract 404 by May 1985, which detailed the construction of a viaduct from Jurong to Lakeside stations, including Chinese Garden.[5][6] Ultimately, Contract 404 was awarded to a joint venture between the Aoki Corporation and Lim Kah Ngam Construction for S$64.8 million (US$48.36 million) in November 1985.[7] The subcontract for the supply of post-tension cables and pre-cast beams for the viaducts was awarded to Swiss-Singaporean company VSL Systems in July 1986[8] while the design of the station's Chinese-style roof was awarded to Parson Brinckerhoff Asia Ltd and Maunsell Consultants in September 1985 as a part of a S$3.6 million (US$2.69 million) contract to give the Phase II MRT stations an "ethnic touch".[9] A week before the opening, there was an open house event for the Jurong stretch of the East-West Line (EWL), which included Chinese Garden station.[10] The station was opened on 5 November 1988, as part of the first portion of Phase II of the MRT system.[11] A primary school band performed inside the station as a part of the opening ceremony.[12]
Upon its opening, the station had a number of issues. Despite its name, the station had no actual direct access to Chinese Garden, forcing commuters to alight at Lakeside station and make their way to Chinese Garden.[13] To solve the problem, the owners of the garden, the Jurong Town Corporation, devised a plan divided into two phases. The first phase is the construction of a 250 metres (270 yd) concrete footpath as well as a temporary timber footbridge and garden entrance. The second phase is the construction of a permanent bridge based on the Sui Dynasty An-Chi Bridge as well as an entrance plaza with an area of 1,200 square metres (1,400 sq yd).[13] The first plan was effectuated in February 1989 whilst the second plan was to be implemented by 1991–92.[14] Additionally, there was no actual path to get to the station from the opposite side despite most commuters living there. This caused them to quickly and unsafely cross the road. Even though a S$200,000 (US$149,253.73) overhead bridge was to built by April of next year, the lack of thought for pedestrian safety was criticised by some residents and commuters.[15]
In 2008, the LTA announced an accessibility enhancement programme for ten stations,[a] including Chinese Garden. The programme included adding ramps, covered linkways, and taxi stands with wheelchair access. It was completed by July 2011 at a cost of S$116 million (2011) (US$92.23 million).[16] Chinese Garden station was the first batch of ten stations announced in 2010 to have additional bicycle parking facilities[b] as a response to the growing demand of bicycle parking spots.[17] The installation was completed in October 2012.[18] As with most of the elevated stations along the EWL, the station was initially built without platform screen doors. Following a rise in track intrusions as well as commuters slipping when rushing for the train, the LTA and SMRT decided to install platform screen doors.[19] After several successful tests at Jurong East, Yishun and Pasir Ris stations, half-height platform screen doors were eventually installed and commenced operations at Chinese Garden station by August 2011.[20] The station was installed with high-volume low-speed fans by the first quarter of 2013.[21] A 5.6 km cycling path to the station and Lakeside station was opened in October 2021 as a part of a 10km cycling route in Taman Jurong.[22]
Station details
The roof of Chinese Garden station is based on traditional Chinese architectural design.
The station runs alongside Boon Lay Way and is next to Jurong Lake,[25] serving the eponymous Chinese Garden along with the Japanese Garden. The station also serves the Yuhua residential estate, and other surrounding amenities such as Jurong Primary School, Fuhua Secondary School, Jurong East Sports Centre, and Jurong East neighbourhood police centre.[26]
A feature of the station, the curved roof is based on traditional Chinese architecture. The roof was a part of SMRT's idea to give the stations an "ethnic touch".[9] Specifically, the designer of the station Scott Danielson of Parson Brinckerhoff said that "the more [he traveled], the more disturbed [he became by] architects failing to reflect their own culture" and therefore incorporated a Chinese roof design due to the station's proximity to the Chinese Garden.[27] The decorative beams of the roof have been described as "chili-green and hongbao-red".[10]
As part of SMRT's community outreach programme, four paintings created by three Secondary school students from Yuan Ching Secondary School are displayed at the ticketing concourse of the station. These paintings feature a pigeon, goldfish, Chinese porcelain sculpture, and Chinese masks respectively.[28]
