I'm going to Singapore on July 29th this year. I want to know about it.

Country name: Republic of Singapore.

Nicknames: Sin Chew and Sing Tao

Capital: Singapore

Independence Day: August 9th (1965)

National flag: It consists of two equal horizontal rectangles, with red on the top and white on the bottom, and the length-width ratio is 3: 2. There is a white crescent moon and five white five-pointed stars in the upper left corner. Red represents human equality, and white symbolizes purity and virtue; The new moon symbolizes the country, and the five stars represent the idea of building democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality in the country. The combination of the new moon and the five stars is close and orderly, symbolizing the spirit of unity and mutual assistance of the Singaporean people.

National emblem: It is composed of shield emblem, lion, tiger and other patterns. The red shield is inlaid with a white crescent moon and a five-pointed star, which has the same meaning as the national flag. On the left of the Red Shield is a lion, which is a symbol of Singapore, and Malay means "Lion City". On the right is a tiger, which symbolizes the historical ties between Singapore and Malaysia. Below the red shield are golden palm branches and leaves, and the blue ribbon at the bottom says "Go ahead, Singapore!" " In Malay.

National anthem: "Go ahead, Singapore"

National Flower: Hu Jihua's national flower is Jin Zhuo Vandylan. Southeast Asia generally calls orchids Hu Jihua. Jin Zhuo Bandailan is cultivated by Ms. Jin Zhuo, with beautiful and dignified flowers and strong vitality, which symbolizes the temperament of Singaporeans and the spirit of hard work and brave struggle.

State dignitaries: 1965 Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who served as Prime Minister for a long time after Singapore's independence, resigned as Prime Minister in 1990+0 1 and was appointed Senior Minister of the Cabinet; Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong was appointed Prime Minister in June199011; The current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was sworn in as the third Prime Minister of Singapore on August 2, 2004. 12 was elected as the new Secretary-General of Singapore People's Action Party in June, re-elected as Prime Minister of Singapore in May 2006 and sworn in on May 30. President Nathan was elected President of Singapore on August 18, 1999, formally sworn in on June 1, and was re-elected in September, 2005.

Physical geography: Located in Southeast Asia, it is the southernmost tropical island city of Malay Peninsula. Covering an area of 647.5 square kilometers, it is adjacent to Malaysia across the Johor Strait in the north, connected to Johor Bahru in Malaysia across a long embankment, and facing Indonesia across the Singapore Strait in the south. Located at the entrance and exit of Malacca Strait, the shipping artery in the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, it consists of more than 50 islands, and Singapore Island accounts for 9 1.6% of the national area. It has a tropical maritime climate with high temperature and rainy all the year round, with an average annual temperature of 24-27℃.

Brief history of the country: It is said that in ancient times, Prince Etama, a descendant of Alexander the Great, was sailing at sea, and his ship was blown to what is now Singapore Island by a storm. On the island, the prince saw a monster with a crimson body, black hair on his head and a pinch of white hair on his chest. The entourage told the prince that it was a lion, and the prince called the unknown island "Singapore", which means lion. This name has been used to this day. Singapore was called "Single Horse" in ancient times, and18-19th century was a part of Johor Kingdom in Malaysia.

/kloc-became a British colony in the 0/9th century and became an important British trading port and military fortress in Asia. From 1942 to 1945, it was ruled by Japan and became a direct colony of Japan. 1June, 956, an autonomous state was established and internal autonomy was implemented. 1963 merged into Malaysia in September. 1On August 9th, 965, under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore was formally established from Malaysia.

Singapore is a city-state, which originally meant lion city. According to Malay historical records, around 1 150, the Sri Lankan prince who died in Sumatra arrived at the island by boat and saw a black beast, which was called a lion by the locals, hence the name "Lion City".

Singapore is the homonym of the Sanskrit "Lion City". Because local residents are deeply influenced by Indian culture, they like to use Sanskrit as their place names. The lion is brave and vigorous, so it is natural to use it as a place name. In the past, overseas Chinese called it "Silla", which means "Strait" in Malay, and some people called it "Sin Chau" and "Sing Tao" because of its small area.

political economics

Singapore is a member of the Commonwealth, and the President is the head of state. The President and his parliamentary colleagues exercise legislative power and implement the cabinet system of the Prime Minister. Traditionally, Singapore's economy is dominated by commerce, including entrepot trade, processing and export, shipping and so on. It is the largest seaport, an important commercial city and entrepot trade center in Southeast Asia, as well as an international financial center and an important aviation center. After independence, Singapore's economy has developed remarkably, and it is known as one of the four little dragons in Asia. Tourism is one of the pillar industries of Singapore economy.

Ethnic group and clan: Singapore has a population of 365,438+10,000, of which Chinese account for 76%, Malays account for about 15%, and others are Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankan Tamils and Westerners. With more than 4,000 people per square kilometer, it is one of the countries with the largest population density in the world.

English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil are the official languages, Malay is the national language, government agencies use English, and English is the administrative language. Most Singaporeans can use English and Chinese. Malays and Pakistanis mostly believe in Islam, Indians believe in Hinduism, and China and Sri Lankans believe in Buddhism. Besides, some people believe in Christianity.

Transportation: Singapore is the aviation center connecting Europe, America and Oceania in Southeast Asia, with routes reaching 54 countries (regions) and 127 cities. China has direct flights to Singapore from Beijing, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Shenzhen. Singapore Changi Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world and one of the largest airports in Southeast Asia. Singapore has developed transportation and advanced facilities, with trains and buses running between major cities in Malaysia and Thailand. The long-distance passenger station is at Xinqiao Road, and there are several buses to Kuala Lumpur, Guan Dan and Malacca every day.

Subway: The subway is the most convenient means of transportation in Singapore. The subway is 67 kilometers long and has 42 stations, which are divided into two lines: the north-south line from Haibin Bay to Yishun and the east-west line from Brazil to Liwen. Each subway station has a clearly marked road map and instructions. It is best to determine the fare and location before taking the subway. The north-south line is represented by "n", yellow represents northbound and red represents southbound; The east-west line is represented by "W", green means eastbound, and blue means westbound; The urban area is indicated by "C". To check the name of the station, just remember the color and number.

The operation of the subway station is fully automated, with computer-controlled automatic ticket vending machines, passenger entry and exit gates, etc. Put the coin in front of the ticket vending machine and press the button to pay the fare. If there is a balance, the machine will automatically change money and pay the ticket. Subway tickets are time-limited. If you stay in the gate for more than half an hour, the ticket will automatically become invalid and passengers can no longer pass through the computer gate. If you want to come out, you must make up another ticket. The subway runs from 6 am to afternoon 12.

Festivals: There are four calendars printed on the Singaporean calendar: solar calendar, China lunar calendar, Indian calendar and Malay origin. There are many festivals according to various calendars. While preserving the traditional cultures of all ethnic groups, the Singapore government encourages people to unify the evolution of national cultural customs in Singapore.

The main festivals are New Year, India Harvest Festival, Singapore Raft Race, India Dabson Festival, Islamic Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, Good Friday, Harz Festival, Vesak Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Singapore Food Festival, National Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, Monkey King's Birthday, Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival, India Lantern Festival, India Nine Nights Festival, Nine Emperors Festival, India Fire Stealing Festival and India Festival.

Diet: Singapore catering brings together local flavors and delicacies from all over the world, including Chinese food, Malaysian food, Thai food, Indonesian food, Indian food, western food and fast food. Due to historical reasons, Singapore has integrated the cooking characteristics of Malays and Chinese in its eating style and habits, among which the most representative dish is "Nyonya Cuisine". Nyonya refers to China women who once lived in Singapore, Malacca and Penang. As far as taste is concerned, Niangjia cuisine is one of the most special and exquisite traditional cuisines.

Tourists are required to pay 10% service charge, 3% government tax and 1% sightseeing tax when spending in restaurants and hotels. Restaurants or snack bars in the suburbs do not charge service fees and tips, and market stalls do not have to pay extra tips. For the sake of public health, all air-conditioned restaurants will stop smoking.

Shopping: Singapore is rich in goods, and there are many kinds of goods from all over the world, ranging from classical and exquisite oriental handicrafts, fashionable European high-end fashion and leather products to advanced high-tech electronic equipment. Singapore market features mainly Malay batik cloth, jewelry, antiques, ceramics, jade, calligraphy and painting. The price level in Singapore is relatively high.

Currency: Singapore dollar (S$), 1 yuan equals 100 cent. The face value of paper money is 1 yuan, 2 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan, 100 yuan, 500 yuan, 1000 yuan; Coins are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100.

Time: 8 hours earlier than GMT, the same as Beijing time.

Press and publication: English newspapers include Straits Times, Business Times and New Newspaper; Chinese newspapers include Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Evening News and Xinmin Daily. Malay newspapers have daily news; In addition, there is a Tamil newspaper, Tamil Daily. The radio station started broadcasting on 1936, and 1959 to 1 started broadcasting in Malay, English, Chinese and Tamil. Radio Singapore owns and operates 12 domestic radio stations and 3 international radio stations. Singapore TV organizations own and operate two channels, one broadcasts Chinese programs 24 hours a day, and the other broadcasts English programs 24 hours a day. 12 TV private company operates two channels, one of which mainly serves Malays and Indians, and the other mainly broadcasts sports and cultural programs. The cable TV network was opened on 1995, and users can receive TV programs from more than 30 channels and 10 countries. 1995 launched satellite TV.

Diplomacy: based on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, maintaining ASEAN unity and cooperation and promoting ASEAN to play a greater role in regional affairs are placed in an important position in diplomatic work; Facing Asia, pay attention to developing cooperative relations with Asian countries, especially China, Japanese, Korean, Indian and other countries; Pursue the policy of "great power balance" and actively carry out economic diplomacy.

Relations with China: 1980 On June 4, 1980, the Agreement between the Government of China and the Government of Singapore on the Establishment of Commercial Representative Offices was signed in Beijing, and the commercial representative offices of the two countries were officially opened in September the following year. 1990101On October 3rd, China and New Zealand established diplomatic relations.

Water dispute with Malaysia

Since the independence of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965, fresh water in Singapore has been supplied by Malaysia on the basis of the treaties at the time of independence. At that time, the agreed export price of fresh water was 3 cents per 4540 liters (about 0.0 1 USD), but the price has not changed until now. Malaysia thinks the price is unacceptably low and demands that the treaty be amended. The New Israel Treaty does not stipulate that Malaysia can revise the price before the treaty expires in 2060. On this issue, there have been serious frictions and quarrels between the two countries. Singapore believes that Malaysia may tear up the treaty before 2060 or the water supply treaty after 2060 will be very harsh, so Singapore regards Malaysia as the biggest threat. Once the above is realized, Singapore will quickly occupy Johor, Malaysia's water storage area, and then resist Malaysia's counterattack, completely occupy the water source and solve the water problem once and for all.

Tourist attractions in Singapore:

1. Sentosa is located in the south of the main island of Singapore, half a kilometer away from the city center. This idyllic holiday island, its Malay name means peace and tranquility. It changed from a fishing village to a British base, and later became a holiday island at 1972.

The island is lush, with charming adventure parks, natural trails, museums and historical sites. Keep people away from the hustle and bustle of the city. People who love the sea can enjoy relaxing water activities on the beach. For those who love nature, Sentosa also has natural sidewalks-Dragon Road, Underwater World, Ji Hu Garden, Butterfly Garden and World Insect Museum. In terms of historical attractions, there are Fort Siroso, maritime museum and Vientiane Museum.

In terms of theme parks, there are Neverland, Flame Mountain and Golf Park. The Merlion Tower, which is 37 meters high, allows visitors to overlook the high-rise buildings in the urban area and surrounding islands from Sentosa. The musical fountain dances to the rhythm of the symphony after dark.

Sentosa is managed and developed by Sentosa Development Bureau, which also manages 10 smaller islands, including Guiyu Island, St. John Island, Sister Island and Ghost Island. These islands are a paradise for people who love swimming, diving and fishing.

The island also has its own transportation equipment. Visitors can travel to different destinations by monorail, bus and beach train for free. In addition, there are bicycle rental shops on the island.

2. Singapore Zoo 1973 opens. The design concept of the park is openness, with tropical forests and lakes as barriers, so that visitors can see clearly without being blocked by iron cages and iron columns.

The zoo covers an area of 28 hectares and has collected 250 species of mammals, birds and reptiles, with a total of nearly 3,000 animals. Among the many endangered animals on display are Komodo monitor lizard, sleeping bear, golden monkey and the world's largest gregarious ape.

Visitors can have an unforgettable breakfast with apes in the zoo, or watch four wonderful animal shows every day. The animals participating in the performance include primates, reptiles, elephants and sea lions. People can watch pygmy hippos swim underwater, and manatees swim freely in the Caribbean. In the children's world, children can get great happiness from the "Friends of Animals Show". The animals participating in the performance are German Shepherd, Big Shepherd, Civet, Parrot and a flock of sheep.

In addition, there is a garden train to take you to the zoo.

3. Fukang Ningshan is commonly known as "Yushan" or "Qishan". This hill, which covers an area of 19 hectares and is about 50 meters high, was once the residence of Raffles. 18 19, after Raffles landed at the mouth of the Singapore River, he took a fancy to this hill overlooking the mouth of the Singapore River and built the Governor's House on the top. 1823, he also chose to settle down here.

In fact, the history of Fukang Mountain can be traced back to14th century. According to historical records, this is the seat of the Sultan royal family in the island country of14th century. The last Sultan Hisquin Dasha was buried near the top of the mountain.

At present, there are many cultural relics on the mountain, and new discoveries are made from time to time. The Fukangning Cultural Center on the mountain shows the unearthed cultural relics from14th century to19th century.

During the British colonial period from 1859 to 186 1, forts were also built on the mountain. 1867, the fortress also set up barracks, hospitals and ammunition depots for Indian and European soldiers, which was the main artillery company to defend Singapore in the19th century. /kloc-at the end of 0/9 and the beginning of the 20th century, the ordnance here was useless because of the peaceful situation.

The British army also built an underground command room with an area of 1306 438+00 square meters and a depth of about 9 meters here during World War II in 1939. Behind the current cultural center is the entrance to the tunnel. It is the headquarters of the British garrison in Malaya. After Britain surrendered, it became the headquarters of the Japanese commander Major General Yamashita.

At present, this command room has become an exhibition hall. Many items in the museum, such as wireless phones, tables and chairs, electric lights, etc. , are authentic historical relics. There are 22 rooms in the exhibition hall, including communication room, soldier lounge, password room and commander room. The exhibition hall intends to recreate the history of 56 years ago, so that visitors have the feeling of being there.

There is also a spice garden in a place on the mountain, which is the epitome of the 19 hectare botanical garden, with spices such as cloves and cinnamon. In addition, on the east side of the mountain, the cemetery left over from the colonial era is also well preserved.

Huibai Mountain is located in the south of Singapore, with a total area of 56.46 hectares. Huibaishan Park on the mountain was built in 1960s and renovated in 1994. After the renovation, Faber Mountain added more infrastructure and redesigned the surrounding landscape.

Huibaishan Park has the following main attractions:

Huabaiding: Huabaiding is as high as105m, which is the highest place in the park. Standing on the white top, you can have a bird's eye view of the south of Singapore. There is a rain tree here, which was planted by 197 1,1.7 for the first arbor day. Along this tree is a multi-storey platform surrounded by flowers and trees. Arrows in different directions are specially designed on the ground of the platform to tell tourists the places and places of interest here. The 16 mural under the observation deck also lets visitors know the history and development of Singapore.

Ocean Village: The main feature of Ocean Village is based on a traditional sailboat. This big ship consists of three parts, namely, a restaurant, a children's playground and a signal station. The surrounding environment is full of tropical garden characteristics. There are three spacious decks on the sailboat, which are suitable for people to get together and hold banquets. In addition, it is also the best place to see Singapore Harbour.

Flower Gallery: There is a flower gallery extending from Baihuaping to Maritime Village. Pedestrians can enjoy birds and flowers in specially designed pavilions, and there is also a "Palm Garden" on the flower aisle for tourists to rest and chat.

Wang Dongting: Located in the low-lying area in the east of mount faber. Visitors can enjoy the beautiful scenery of eastern Singapore here. This garden has a fitness area, a wide lawn, a picnic area and a pavilion for tourists to have a bird's eye view of the city.

Cable car pavilion: Two platforms will be built next to the cable car pavilion to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Visitors can enjoy the scenery in the south of China through glasses.

Kentegang Park covers an area of 47 hectares, formerly known as Opium Mountain, and is one of the nature reserves in China.

It is a mountain of Asuncion forest and a gathering place for migratory birds. There is an 800-meter-long mountain road in the park, which is a good place for tourists to explore the natural ecology. In addition, there are two ponds, one large and one small, on the back of the mountain. There is an observation deck at the top of the front overlooking the west coast of China. On the left, you can see an island with many oil refineries. On the right, you can see the container terminal.

According to the National Park Service, Kentegang Park is the national park with the most fitness facilities, with 20 different fitness stations for users to choose from. In addition, its rugged terrain often attracts many hikers and nature lovers to visit or hold "treasure hunt" games.

As early as World War II, it was once one of the places where the Malay Legion fought with the Japanese army. 1On February 3rd, 942, the Japanese army18th Division launched an attack on the First Malay Army Corps, the Second British Loyal Army Corps and the 44th Indian Brigade, which were defending this mountain. Many Japanese and Malay soldiers died in this 48-hour struggle. Recently, the Singapore army "adopted" Kentegang Park and became a "military green park". Two M 1 14 howitzers and an AMX- 13 light tank were permanently placed in the park, highlighting the historical and military significance of the park.