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Those looking for a new place to explore can consider spending some time among the ruins and remnants of a former Hainan village in Singapore.

Located within Thomson nature park, which is to the east of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR), the park houses 3.8km of trails.

These trails are specially curated to provide a nostalgic peek into Singapore's past.

Hainan village

Currently, at the park, you can still see the building foundations, walls and abandoned wells of a former Hainan village.

The former village housed Hainanese immigrants in the 1930s. By the 60s, almost a hundred residents of diverse cultural backgrounds called the village home.

However, it was eventually vacated in the 1980s, and the abandoned agricultural land was reclaimed by secondary forest.

To preserve the rich cultural heritage of the site, the National Parks Board (NParks) worked with former residents of the village to document its history through oral accounts, art and archive materials.

According to former Member of Parliament Amrin Amin, who recently wandered around the site, he said that he could even see old toilets, brick gates and fence structures covered by forest.

Signages around the park also share stories of farms, plantations and orchards.

There are also two old roads, Lorong Pelita and Jalan Belang, which are still standing.

Park crucial to conservation efforts

The park also acts as a crucial new habitat for native biodiversity.

This includes rare and endangered species such as the Malayan Porcupine, Sunda Pangolin, Lesser Mousedeer, and Straw-headed Bulbul.

It is also home to the extremely rare Raffles' banded langur, of which only 60 remain in the wild here in Singapore.

The langur is shy and elusive, and their populations are solely limited to the CCNR.

Heading down to parks?

Over the Good Friday weekend, quite a few Singapore residents have headed to green spaces in Singapore.

To manage the crowds, NParks deployed over 500 personnel to all parks, nature reserves and green spaces in Singapore.

If you're thinking of planning a visit, be sure to check out the map showing crowd levels at various parks so you can avoid places with high traffic.

You can also consider visiting during off-peak hours or on weekdays.

Top photo via Amrin Amin/FB.