The name of Tanglin actually came from the term “TUA TANG LENG” which means “Great Eastern Hill”. This name was given by the Chinese inhabitants during the colonial period to the hilly area around Tanglin Road. As the Malayan Railway used to have a stop at this location (near the junction of present day Tanglin Halt Road and Tanglin Halt close), it was therefore named as Tanglin Halt.

At the Tanglin Halt Road, there are a few old ten storey flats which still stand today. As flats of such height were rare in the beginning of 1960s, these flat were therefore used as landmark and called “Tanglin Chap Lau” (meaning Tanglin ten storeys) by the local residents.

There are a few shops here that have been operating for over 40 years. An interview with this particular shop owner revealed that it was passed to him by his father who opened the shop in back in the 1950s. The shop still retain some of its old traditions of using huge jars to store biscuits and the use of a bucket with pulley system to store its money. It also had a big ancient looking signboards, that were common around many of these shops around here, demonstrating its history.