Long Ya Men

Part of the Early history of Singapore
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Sabana Temasek  • Long Ya Men  • Ban Zu
Malay Annals
Kingdom of Singapura  • Sang Nila Utama  • Parameswara Badang Hang Nadim
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Long Ya Men (simplified Chinese: 龙牙门; traditional Chinese: 龍牙門; pinyin: lóngyámén; Malay: Batu Berlayar) or Dragon's Teeth Gate, is the name Chinese explorer Wang Dayuan recorded for Batu Belayar, a craggy granite outcrop that formerly stood at the gateway to Keppel Harbour in Singapore. In his description, “The strait runs between the two hills of the Danmaxi (Temasek) natives which looked like dragon’s teeth.” From there, the name Long Ya Men or Dragon Teeth’s Gate was born.

The rocky outcrop served as a navigational aid to ancient mariners sailing through the swift waters of the narrow channel, but was subsequently destroyed by the British in 1848 to widen the channel for larger vessels to sail through.^[1] In 2005, a symbolic replica was erected by the Singapore government near its original site to mark the role it played in Singapore's maritime history.^[2]

Long Ya Men was documented in Wang Dayuan's travelogue Daoyi Zhilüe as one of the two settlements of Temasek. It was marked in the Mao Kun navigational map historical maritime annal Wubei Zhi said to date from the voyages of Ming dynasty's Admiral Zheng He. Long Ya Men in the map was also used to refer to the strait between Sentosa island and Labrador Point, and named after a pinnacle of stone that was called Batu Berlayar, which means "Sail Rock" in Malay.^[3] Another suggestion is that it refers to the Singapore Main Strait south of Pulau Satumu.^[4] The Long Ya Men's unique features was said to have assisted Zheng He in navigating the waters around Singapore during his seven maritime voyages to the west between 1405 and 1433 AD.