Have you ever wondered what lies beneath the modern facade of Bishan? Bishan, also known as Peck San, isn’t just a bustling town. It’s a place where the whispers of the past mingle with the present, a place where the living have always coexisted with the departed. Bishan was once the site of Kwong Wai Siew Peck San Theng, Singapore’s largest Chinese cemetery. Established in 1870, it housed over 75,000 graves. This sprawling necropolis wasn’t just a city of the dead; it was the heart of a vibrant community known as Kampong San Teng.
The villagers, initially undertakers and their families, lived their lives intertwined with the rituals of death. Children played amongst the tombstones. The teahouse bustled with families during festivals for the dead like Qing Ming and the lesser-known Double Ninth Festival. Even local gangs found refuge amongst the graves, adding a layer of lawlessness to the area. Bishan wasn’t just a place of mourning; it was a place of life, albeit one deeply connected to the afterlife. During World War II, Bishan became an unlikely sanctuary. Bombed by the Japanese due to its proximity to the strategic MacRitchie Reservoir, the cemetery and village suffered casualties. Yet, ironically, during the occupation, the area became a refuge for those fleeing forced labor and screenings, untouched by the Japanese forces.
In 1973, the government decreed the closure of Peck San Theng cemetery. The graves were exhumed, and between 1983 and 1990, a modern town arose, bearing the Cantonese name for the former cemetery: Bishan. The iconic pitched roofs of some HDB flats are a subtle nod to the pavilions that once dotted the cemetery landscape. They serve as a poignant architectural echo of Bishan’s past.
Today, the memory of Peck San Theng lingers in the urban legends surrounding Bishan MRT station. Stories of faceless apparitions and ghostly encounters abound, a chilling reminder of the thousands who rest beneath the bustling town. Some even whisper that Bishan possesses good fengshui due to the cemetery’s elevated location. Bishan is more than just a town. It is a living testament to Singapore’s evolving relationship with life and death. It stands as a powerful reminder of a time when the living and the dead shared a common space, a unique heritage etched into the very fabric of Bishan.