MyTurf

Children hooked by a pastime of old - longkang fishing

My Turf is a fortnightly series that aims to share untold stories of our neighbourhoods. In this instalment, we take a look at longkang fishing.

Far left: (From left) Zhang Mulai, Zhang Muqing and Chen Zhihan, all aged four, showing off their catch at Orto last Saturday. Left: Six-year-old Lynelle Lee fishing with her friends from Little Wonders Montessori Childcare at Fish @ Bugis+ last week
Orto in Lorong Chencharu is one of five longkang fishing facilities licensed to operate in Singapore. Each of these facilities features ponds or streams with water between ankle- and shin-deep, where youngsters can try to catch small fish using small nets. ST PHOTOS: KHALID BABA, LIM YAOHUI
Far left: (From left) Zhang Mulai, Zhang Muqing and Chen Zhihan, all aged four, showing off their catch at Orto last Saturday. Left: Six-year-old Lynelle Lee fishing with her friends from Little Wonders Montessori Childcare at Fish @ Bugis+ last week
(From left) Zhang Mulai, Zhang Muqing and Chen Zhihan, all aged four, showing off their catch at Orto last Saturday.
Orto in Lorong Chencharu is one of five longkang fishing facilities licensed to operate in Singapore. Each of these facilities features ponds or streams with water between ankle-and shin-deep, where youngsters can try to catch small fish using small
Six-year-old Lynelle Lee fishing with her friends from Little Wonders Montessori Childcare at Fish @ Bugis+ last week.
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Older Singaporeans may have fond memories of catching small fish in a nearby longkang (the Malay word for drain), back when the island was far less developed.

It's still possible to indulge in the pastime here - albeit in a modern, man-made pond - giving children a taste of how their parents and grandparents grew up.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 28, 2018, with the headline Children hooked by a pastime of old - longkang fishing. Subscribe