The Tang Dynasty Village (also known as the Tang Dynasty City) was a movie studio-cum-theme park located at the corner of Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim and Yuan Ching Road in the Jurong district. Opened in January 1992, the $70-million project was owned by the Hong Kong-based firm Far East Holdings International belonging to tycoon Deacon Chiu, who was also responsible for developing the Sung Dynasty Village in Hong Kong. The Village was modelled after the ancient Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) capital of Chang’an (present day Xian), with replicas of famous landmarks such as: the Silk Road Open City, modelled after the city’s commercial district; the Daming Palace, built by the Tang Emperor Tang Tai Zong (599-649 CE) as a summer resort for his father; the tranquil Huiqing Pool with rustic lodging houses; the Arch Bridge modelled after the famous Zhaozhou Bridge in China’s Hebei province; the seven-storey Wild Goose Pagoda; and the Underground Palace, which housed replicas of the famous terracotta warriors found in Xian. The theme park was closed down in 1999 due to poor visitorship, with a subsequently failed attempt at reviving it in 2001. After talks on converting the site into a Shaolin Temple attraction fell through in 2007, the theme park was eventually demolished.
