Up Your Alley: Yishun, the heartland haven with heart
This is the second of CNA's new series to uncover hidden gems around Singapore. Write in to tell us what makes your neighbourhood special.
Clockwise from left: Chong Pang City, people crossing the road near Chong Pang City, an angler teaches CNA's Try Sutrisno Foo how to fish, and cyclists at Yishun Dam. (Photos: Try Sutrisno Foo, Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: There’s a saying that goes “the more things change, the more they stay the same”, and perhaps that can be used to describe the development of Yishun so far.
For those who are not residents here, it’s easy to dismiss Yishun as the subject of #OnlyInYishun and “Make Yishun Great Again” jokes after a series of unfortunate or unusual events got it featured in a Netflix trailer for Stranger Things.Â
One long-time former resident, Alfred Siew, tells CNA: “My former neighbour, she is still here. She hasn't changed except for growing older. The people you know, the people you grow up with. People move out, I’ve moved out - but the links are still there. When I go back, I see my neighbour and my kids greet her as (I did) when I was a kid myself. These things won’t change.”
READ:Â Up Your Alley -Â Hidden gems around Singapore's Chinatown
And Alfred’s not the only one who has expressed this sentiment.Â
Time and again, people we spoke to in Yishun - from residents to business owners - speak of relationships forged over the years that have kept them from moving elsewhere. This episode of Up Your Alley features some of the places and people that help make Yishun the home that many look to return to:
