Podcast
A Tang Dynasty City in Singapore: Flying Swordsmen, Terracotta Warriors and Pagodas
Topics
History
26 June 2026
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.
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What Tin Seng Talked About
00:00 – Intro
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
About the Guest
Lim Tin Seng is a senior librarian with the National Library, Singapore. He is the co-editor 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.
Transcript
Coming soon
Resources
Lim Tin Seng, “An Ancient Chinese City in Jurong,” BiblioAsia 22, no. 2 (July–September 2026).
Lim Tin Seng, “From Sarong Island with Love: Singapore’s Original Tourist Isle,” BiblioAsia 18, no. 3 (October–December 2022).
Lim Tin Seng, “From Botanic Gardens to Gardens by the Bay: Singapore’s Experience in Becoming a Garden City,” BiblioAsia 8, no. 2 (July–September 2012).
Credits
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.