A Tang Dynasty City in Singapore: Flying Swordsmen, Terracotta Warriors and Pagodas

A film studio and theme park in Jurong opened to grand fanfare in 1992. Named Tang Dynasty City, it was modelled after the ancient city of Chang’an. Despite its underground terracotta warriors and other attractions, it struggled to draw visitors, as Senior Librarian Lim Tin Seng tells us.

Lim Tin Seng is a senior librarian with the National Library Singapore. He is the co-editor of of Roots: Tracing Family Histories (2013), Harmony and Development: ASEAN-China Relations (2009) and China’s New Social Policy (2010). He writes regularly for BiblioAsia.

What Tin Seng Talked About

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 02:09 – About Tang Dynasty City
• 03:54 – Who came up with the idea of Tang Dynasty City
• 05:25 – Why Chang’an was picked as the city to replicate
• 06:54 – The difficulty of getting construction materials
• 08:34 – Movies and shows shot at Tang Dynasty City
• 10:40 – Food options at Tang Dynasty City
• 12:38 – Popularity of the theme park
• 14:38 – Underground terracotta warriors
• 15:54 – How Tang Dynasty City tried to attract more visitors
• 19:10 – What Tin Seng enjoys about archival research
• 20:30 – Curiocity project, on story maps
• 23:03 – The research significance of Tin Seng’s favourite BiblioAsia article he has written
• 26:09 – How Tin Seng’s article on Sarong Island broke new ground

Transcript and Resources

• Read the transcript: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/all-sections/podcast-a-tang-dynasty-city-in-singapore-flying-swordsmen-terracotta-warriors-and-pagodas
• Read the article: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/all-sections/vol-22-issue-2-jul-sep-2026-an-ancient-chinese-city-in-jurong-/

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This episode of BiblioAsia Podcast was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Red Ink Media. The background music “Di Tanjong Katong” was composed by Ahmad Patek and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Tin Seng for coming on the show.

Produced by the National Library Singapore, the BiblioAsia Podcast tells stories about Singapore history.