Yishun, Singapore

Yishun, Singapore (29 July 2017)

Yishun (GPS: 1.43036, 103.83536) is a planning area in the northern part of Singapore. The name was originally called Nee Soon, but was pinyinised to Yishun. It was named after Lim Nee Soon, who was a tycoon trading in pineapples and rubber. A leader member of the Teochew clan association, Nee Soon was instrumental in developing the area and neighboring Sembawang.

Yishun is located in Singapore Postal District 27.

Yishun is bordered by Sembawang in the north, Simpang in the northeast, Seletar in the east, Sengkang in the southeast, Ang Mo Kio in the south, the Central Water Catchment in the southwest, and Mandai in the west.

The planning area of Yishun comprises 9 neighbourhoods, called subzones, namely Khatib, Lower Seletar, Nee Soon, Northland, Springleaf, Yishun Central, Yishun East, Yishun South and Yishun West.

The name Nee Soon was changed to Yishun at a time when it was fashionable to replace dialect names with pinyinised ones. While the government has since made a u-turn on such often rash decisions, reinstating some place names to their original, the name Yishun remained unchanged.