Ancestral Tablets
Thian Leng · Lin San Temple
An ancestral tablet carries the names of a family's ancestors and is kept in a hall where descendants come to pay their respects. A tablet can be arranged on its own, or alongside a niche at the same place.
Kembangan · Freehold
Thian Leng 天灵总道堂 is at Kembangan, on a freehold title, so a tablet placed there stays permanently. Its ancestral tablets are kept in a hall of their own, each set into its own framed pedestal. The hall is air-conditioned.
Geylang · Freehold
Lin San Temple at Geylang offers ancestral tablets on the same freehold title as its niches, so a tablet placed there stays permanently. Tablets and niches can be arranged together at the same temple.
Tenure: freehold and leasehold
Tenure decides how long a niche or an ancestral tablet stays where it is placed. It is set by the location rather than by the product, and there are three separate locations here — one memorial garden and two temples.
H510 法光阁
Nirvana Memorial Garden, Choa Chu Kang
99-year lease
H522 法恩阁
Nirvana Memorial Garden, Choa Chu Kang
99-year lease
Thian Leng 天灵总道堂
Kembangan
Freehold
Lin San Temple 灵山寺
Geylang
Freehold
- 99-year lease
- Held for a term of ninety-nine years — a long and clearly defined period to plan around.
- Freehold
- No end date. Nothing to renew, and no move at the end of a term.
Neither is better than the other. Freehold matters a great deal to some families; others choose Choa Chu Kang for reasons of their own — the grounds, the halls, or simply because the rest of the family is already there. It is a difference to weigh, not a ranking.
