Kranji is a suburb in northwestern

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, bounded by Sungei Kadut to the north, Turf Club to the east, as well as Lim Chu Kang and the Western Water Catchment to the west. It is located about from the

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

and its name came from the Malay word "Buah Keranji" due to pronunciation by local Malay, it became "Kranji".

Etymology

Kranji is named after a local

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

, ''pokok'' ''kranji'' or ''keranji'' ( Malay for ''

Dialium indum ''Dialium indum'', the tamarind-plum or velvet tamarind, is a tall, tropical, fruit-bearing tree. It belongs to the family Fabaceae, and has small, typically grape-sized edible fruits with brown hard inedible shells. No reports of Plant cultivat ...

'', velvet tamarind tree).

History

Kranji served as a

military camp A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent military base, for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large cam ...

before the

Japanese invasion of Singapore The fall of Singapore, also known as the Battle of Singapore, took place in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, South–East Asian theatre of the Pacific War. The Empire of Japan captured the British stronghold of Singapore in the Stra ...

in 1942, and is now the site of the

Kranji War Cemetery The Kranji War Cemetery is located in Kranji, Singapore, and is the final resting place for Allied soldiers who perished during the Battle of Singapore and the subsequent Japanese occupation of the island from 1942 to 1945 and in other parts ...

and Kranji War Memorial, commemorating the 30,000

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

personnel who died in Singapore, Malaya,

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

and

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In addition, it is now a prime residential area comprising mostly stand-alone properties. There are no towering apartment blocks, unlike most suburbs of Singapore. It is also an industrial area.

Highlights

The Singapore Turf Club operates Kranji Racecourse, the only

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

race course in Singapore. It is located next to the Kranji MRT station. There is also a

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

known as Kranji Reservoir, which was formed by the

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

ming of the Kranji River.

Bollywood Veggies Bollywood Farms Pte Ltd, formerly known as Bollywood Veggies Organic Farm, is a farming collective and organic growing education center located in the Lim Chu Kang district of North West Singapore. Background The center was launched in 2000 by Ivy ...

is an organic farming collective and information centre open Wednesdays - Sundays.

Transportation

In 1903, the Singapore-Kranji Railway was launched with four stations, running from Tank Road to Kranji. It is connected to Kranji MRT station and is one of the main boarding and alighting stops to and from Johor Bahru for Bus Service 160 and 170/X.

References

*Romen Bose (2006), "Kranji - The Commonwealth War Cemetery and the Politics of the Dead", Marshall Cavendish Editions,

External links

Kranji War Cemetery and Singapore MemorialSingapore Turf Club
Places in Singapore {{Singapore-geo-stub