In shortLian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery is free to enter and open daily from 8am to 5pm, at 184 Jalan Toa Payoh. Checked October 2026.
Culture · free
Duration
1 hour
The take
One of Singapore's oldest Chinese monasteries, dating from 1902, with its halls set among the flats of Toa Payoh. If you're already up north, it's well worth an hour before you head back into town.
Good to know
Free entry; a national monument, recently restored
Finding it: 184 Jalan Toa Payoh, behind the HDB blocks; a short walk from Toa Payoh MRT
Hours checked October 2026
Before you go
What are the drum and bell towers at Lian Shan Shuang Lin for?
They set the monastery's daily routine: the sounding of ritual instruments in the Drum Tower and Bell Tower announces each part of the prescribed day. Both were completed in 1907. The layout follows the standard cong lin monastery plan, modelled on Xi Chan Monastery in Fuzhou.
Sources: National Heritage Board
Which halls should I look for at Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery?
The entrance hall, Tian Wang Dian, holds four Heavenly Kings flanking the Laughing Buddha. Behind it, the Mahavira Hall, built in 1904, is the main prayer hall and houses images of Shakyamuni, the Medicine Buddha and Amitabha. The monastery also has a Dharma Hall, rebuilt in the 1970s.
Sources: National Heritage Board
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