The Kwan Im Tng Temple at Balestier Road is one of the many Chinese temples in Singapore dedicated to Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. The most prominent of these temples is the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho (more popularly known as the Si Ma Lu Guanyin Tang) located at Waterloo Street. Balestier Road is located in the Kallang region and stretches from Serangoon Road to Thomson Road. The road and the area around it was named after Joseph Balestier, an American merchant and diplomat who became the first United States consul in Singapore when he was appointed to the post in 1837. Balestier was an enterprising businessman who owned a sugar cane plantation in the area that now bears his name.
