Little known to many, there is a Television (TV) World at the end of Tuas, situated just beside the Tuas Second Link checkpoint. Looking like a rundown theme park from the outside, it was mainly used by the Television Corporation Of Singapore (TCS) in the nineties as the production venue of local period dramas.

Occupying a land size equivalent to about four football fields, the TV World was created in 1990, completed about two years later, to look like Singapore of the fifties and sixties. It was designed with buildings that resemble old cinema, railway station, fire station, church, mansions and traditional shophouses. Three main streets run around these buildings.

There was also a man-made river within TV World for filming purposes. In the past, the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) artistes, if required in the scripts, were made to jump or swim in the Singapore River.

Using the nostalgic props and backgrounds at TV World, the TCS would produce many memorable Chinese dramas for Channel 8, such as Strange Encounters 3 奇缘3 (aired in 1995), Tofu Street 豆腐街 (1996), The Price Of Peace 和平的代价 (1997), Wok Of Life 福满人间 (1999) and Hainan Kopi Tales 琼园咖啡香 (2000).

In 2001, TCS was restructured and became Mediacorp TV. The TV World was subsequently given up probably due to high maintenance costs. Also, Mediacorp had decided to cut down on the production of local period dramas. Instead, if required, they would be filmed at Caldecott Broadcast Centre, Malaysia or China.

After its closure, the premises of the TV World was taken over by the Singapore Police Force as their Tactical Training Village for special forces. In 2012, Mediacorp did, however, return to the TV World for one more production of drama series – Joy of Life 花样人间 – for the 30th year of production of local Chinese dramas in Singapore.

Check out more old photos of Tuas TV World here.

Published: 31 July 2016

Updated: 20 August 2016