Сентоса: История и современность острова-курорта Сингапура.

Sentosa Island, known mononymously as Sentosa, is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the Keppel Harbour, and is adjacent to Pulau Brani, a smaller island wedged between Sentosa and the main island. Formerly used as a British military base and afterwards as a Japanese prisoner of war camp, the island was renamed Sentosa in the 1970s to become a popular tourist destination. It is now home to a popular resort that receives up to 25 million visitors per year. Attractions include a long sheltered beach, Madame Tussauds Singapore, an extensive cable car network, Fort Siloso, two golf courses, 14 hotels as well as the Resorts World Sentosa, which features the Universal Studios Singapore theme park and one of Singapore's two casinos, the other being in Marina Bay Sands. Sentosa is also widely known as being the location of the 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit, where North Korean Chairman Kim Jong un and U. S. President Donald Trump met at the Capella Singapore located on the island. This was the first ever meeting between the leaders of North Korea and the United States. As an island geared towards recreation and tourism with its casino and resorts under a tropical climate, as well as residences for the wealthy, Sentosa is more than twice the size of Monaco.

Pulau Blakang Mati was once home to the native Malays who were relocated to the mainland, together with the Pulau Brani villagers, due to urban redevelopment in the late 1970s. In the nineteenth century, the island was considered important because it protected the passage into Keppel Harbour. Plans to fortify the island as part of the defence plan for Singapore were drawn up as early as 1827, but few fortifications actually materialised until the 1880s, when the rapid growth of the harbour led to concern over the protection of coal stocks against enemy attack. The four forts built on the island were Fort Siloso, Fort Serapong, Fort Connaught and the Mount Imbiah Battery.

The western end of Pulau Blakang Mati, the place where Fort Siloso is now, used to be called sarang rimau (the tiger's den). Selusuh is a kind of herb used as a remedy in childbirth, but there is no explanation of how the fort came to be so called, the orang laut of Kampong Kopit only knowing the place by the name of sarang rimau. By the 1930s, the island was heavily fortified and a crucial component of Fortress Singapore, and the base of the Royal Artillery.

Fort Connaught, on eastern side of Sentosa island, was earlier called Belakang Mati East Battery which was constructed in 1878. It had ammunition similar to Fort Siloso, with three Mark I 7 Inch RML Guns of 6 1/2 tons and two RML 64 pounder 64 cwt guns. In 1890 it was renamed the Fort Connaught to mark the visit of Duke of Connaught. In 1930s, fort was rebuilt and three Mark X 9·2 Inch Guns on 30° Mark VII Mountings with better range replaced the older firepower. On Mount Serapong, an underground Battery Plotting Room was constructed on the northern side and a Battery Observation Post on top of the mountain. In 1942, during WWII, British forces at this fort exhausted their ammunition, and guns were tempered and disabled before the British surrendered to Japanese forces. A significant part of Mount Serapong was removed and it made way for the present day Tanjong Golf Course, due to which a major part of the fort was destroyed. Presently few remains of the fort can still be seen in the extreme east corner of the Tanjong Golf Course, namely observation tower in the northeast corner of golf course near Allenbrooke road, then to the south of it are gun number 3, gun number 2 and engine room, and finally gun number 1 all short distance from each other.

Fort Serapong, Fort Siloso, Fort Connaught and Imbiah Battery were constructed on Sentosa island in 1870 to form the southern defence of Singapore. Presently only 20% of the original fort has been discovered. Ruins are reachable via Fort Serapong Road, then walking on a forested ridge which has several "Danger: keep out" type of signs.

During the Second World War, the island was a British military fortress. The British set up large calibre gun fortifications at various points along the island that were aligned to the south, facing the sea in expectation of a seaward Japanese assault. The myth that the guns were incapable of pointing north developed after the War but this was wrong, they could swivel to point north but they were only equipped with armour piercing shells for ships which made the shells ineffective against land based forces. The Japanese invaded and captured Singapore from the north, after having done the same to Malaya (now known as West or Peninsular Malaysia). Following the surrender of the Allied Forces on 15 February 1942, Fort Siloso became a prisoner of war camp, housing Australian and British prisoners of the Japanese. During the Japanese Occupation, under the Sook Ching Operation, Chinese men who were suspected, often arbitrarily, of being involved in anti Japanese activities were brutally killed. 300 bodies, riddled with bullet wounds, washed up on the beach of Pulau Belakang Mati, and were buried by the British prisoners.

After the Japanese surrender in 1945 and the return of Singapore to British rule, the island became the base of the locally enlisted First Singapore Regiment of the Royal Artillery (1st SRRA) in 1947. Other locally enlisted men from Singapore were sent to the island for basic military training before being sent to other units of the British Army in Singapore. Ten years later, the 1st SRRA was disbanded and its guns dismantled. The coast artillery was replaced with Gurkha infantry units, first the 2/7th Duke of Edinburgh's own Gurkha Rifles and later the 2/10th Princess Mary's own Gurkha Rifles. Fort Siloso and Mount Imbiah became a religious retreat and a Protestant church house respectively. Fort Connaught was left in ruins. Fort Serapong became a secure communications and listening station. In the early 1960s, during the Indonesian Confrontation, the 2/10th occupied the island. Even though Indonesia was in close proximity there were few amateurish attempts of direct action by the Indonesians against Singapore. The Gurkha battalion rotated on a six monthly basis to Borneo where most military action during the Confrontation took place. A significant parade took place on the island during the Confrontation to announce the award of the Victoria Cross to Rambahadur Limbu for an action in Borneo. With the end of the Confrontation in 1966 and the withdrawal of the Gurkha battalion from the island, the British handed over Sentosa to the Singapore Armed Forces of the newly independent Government of Singapore in 1967. In 1967, Pulau Belakang Mati became the base for the Singapore Naval Volunteer Force, which relocated there from its old base at Telok Ayer Basin. The School of Maritime Training was also set up there, as was the first Naval Medical Centre. It became part of the Republic of Singapore Navy. Also in 1967, Pulau Belakang Mati became the military base for the School of Field Engineers, which relocated there from Pasir Leba Camp. The Field Engineer School trained the 1st Batch of Combat Engineer Commanders who in turn trained the 1st batch of Full Time National Servicemen who were enlisted in 1968. The 1st operational Combat Engineer Battalion was also raised here. The Engineer Headquarters (EHQ) was established here 1970 before moving to Gillman Camp in 1971. By 1967, the Singapore government had reached an agreement with Esso to build an oil refinery on the island with the intent to eventually turn the island into a petrochemical complex. However, the then chief of the Urban Renewal Unit (the forerunner of the Urban Redevelopment Authority), Alan Choe, wanted to somehow preserve the greenery of the island. With the support of Dr Albert Winsemius, he managed to convince then Finance Minister Goh Keng Swee and then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong to turn the island into a tourism destination, and shift the planned Esso refinery to Jurong Island instead.

In the late 1960s, the government began to set out proposals for developing the island, and a contest to find a new name for the island was held in November 1969. The Sentosa Development Corporation was formed and incorporated on 1 September 1972 to oversee the development of the island. A series of attractions were subsequently opened for visitors including Fort Siloso, Surrender Chamber wax museum, Musical Fountain, and the Underwater World. The causeway bridge was opened in 1992 connecting Sentosa to the mainland.

On 16 March 2005, the monorail service was discontinued to make way for the new Sentosa Express, which commenced operations on 15 January 2007. In 2009, construction of a new foot bridge began. The S$70 million Sentosa Boardwalk includes themed gardens, shops and eateries. There are covered walkways and travellators along the boardwalk for rainy days. The Boardwalk, officially opened by Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean on 29 January 2011, provides visitors with an alternative mode of travel to reach the island. Sentosa Boardwalk, designed by Aedas, was named Best Leisure Architecture in Asia Pacific and 5* Best Leisure Architecture in Singapore, at the 2014 Asia Pacific Property Awards.

The island hosted the 2018 North Korea–United States summit between the United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong un of North Korea on 12 June 2018, at the Capella Singapore. Sentosa island was gazetted as a 'special event area' by the Singapore Government and the Capella Singapore was chosen as the venue by the White House, a week prior to the summit. In his 2018 autobiography, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong revealed that, when the tourism sector was suffering, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew made an attempt to allow a nudist resort to be built on Sentosa in order to attract tourists, but the motion was ultimately vetoed.

The island has an area of close to It lies just half a kilometre (a quarter of a mile) away from the southern coast of the main island of Singapore. It is Singapore's fourth largest island (excluding the main island). 70% of the island was covered by secondary rainforest, the habitat of monitor lizards, monkeys, peacocks, parrots as well as other native fauna and flora, also, when the construction of Resorts World Sentosa commenced; environmental impact was kept at a minimum when over two hundred trees in the designated area were replanted elsewhere on the island. Further development has significantly impacted the biodiversity of the island, resulting in the loss of much of the native fauna and flora. The island also has a stretch of white sand beach, which has impacted the reef. Significantly large portions of land are currently being added to Sentosa due to land reclamation.

Sentosa can be reached from the Singapore mainland via a short causeway or Cable Car, which originates from Mount Faber and passes through HarbourFront en route to its final destination at Imbiah Lookout. In 2015, Sentosa opened an intra island Cable Car to facilitate travelling within the island. Dubbed the "Sky Network", the Cable Car has 3 stations, in Siloso, Imbiah, and near the now closed Merlion, and is not linked to the original Cable Car. Public bus services are available to connect Sentosa Island to the mainland. Tong Tar Transport service RWS8 operates between VivoCity/ HarbourFront station to Resorts World Sentosa during peak hours only. On 30 July 2017, SBS Transit Bus Service 123 was extended to enhance connectivity to Resorts World Sentosa, Merlion Tower (now closed), and Beach Station Bus Terminal. Prior to COVID 19 pandemic in Singapore, SMRT had operated Express Bus Services 188R and 963R between Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands towards Resorts World Sentosa respectively on weekends and public holidays. These bus routes were withdrawn on 7 April 2020 due to low demand.

The island is also accessible by the Sentosa Express monorail, which replaced the old Sentosa Monorail that operated from 1982 to 2005. The Sentosa Express has three stations on Sentosa and one on mainland Singapore. The northern terminus of the line, which opened on 15 January 2007, is located at the VivoCity shopping mall on the mainland and the southernmost terminus, Beach Station, is located on Sentosa Island. In Vivocity, the mainland MRT is in turn served by the HarbourFront of the North East Line and the Circle Line.

The Beach Station Bus Terminal within Sentosa serves both residents and tourists access to various amenities around Sentosa. There are two bus services serving the terminal, identified as Bus A and Bus B. SBS Transit Bus Service 123 also serves this terminal.

Since 1998, passenger cars have been allowed to enter the island. Visitors can also access the island via the Sentosa Boardwalk which is parallel to the causeway (which opened on 29 January 2011). The first two days of its opening were marked with free entry into Sentosa for visitors who walk, and subsequently, an SGD 1 admission fee into Sentosa is charged. From 7 June 2014 to 4 January 2015, walk in entry into Sentosa via the Sentosa Boardwalk is free on weekends and public holidays. Walk in has been free of charge since the end of SG50 celebrations. The Sentosa Boardwalk hosts frequent bazaars on weekends.

Sentosa Beach Tram is a free to ride tram that serves Palawan Beach, Siloso Beach, and Tanjong Beach, using four vehicles including 2 Volvo B12BLEAs, in which the second carriage is an open top and another one with green and blue liveries. The Volvo B12BLEAs were manufactured by ComfortDelGro Engineering bodywork, which has since been taken out of service. The connection is at Beach Station Bus Terminal, beside Beach Station. Separately, a 3 car tram used to serve Underwater World. An Autonomous Bus Trial was also conducted from mid 2019 to the end of 2019.

A section of Imbiah Lookout closed down on 27 March 2007 to make way for Resorts World Sentosa. Some of the attractions listed here may have closed down earlier. Sijori Wondergolf was a miniature golf park. There were 54 landscaped greens set in three different 18 hole courses. It eventually went under redevelopment. Fantasy Island was a water based theme park. Opened in 1994 at a cost of S$54 million, it had numerous water slides and other features. It was plagued by several accidents that resulted in several people getting injured as well as two fatalities. All these accidents led to the eventual closure of the attraction on 2 November 2002. Adventure Asia Park, adjacent to Fantasy Island, was a separate gated attraction housed within the Asian Village themed area. The park closed permanently before 1998. Sentosa Monorail circled the western half of Sentosa until it closed in March 2005. Most of the island monorail was dismantled though several of the stations were repurposed for other uses and parts of the original track structure still remain and some of them reused. The monorail was replaced by the three internal bus lines and the current Sentosa Express, which operates from the main island of Singapore to Sentosa. Volcanoland featured an artificial volcano along with Mayan motifs and scenery. It was closed down to make way for the new integrated resort, Resorts World Sentosa
Sentosa Musical Fountain, opened in 1982, underwent three extensive renovations in 1992 (upgrading project) and 1999 (major restoration and upgrading). In 2002, Yves Pépin who also designed Songs of the Sea and Wings of Time created a new musical fountain show named Magical Sentosa Show which lasted for 5 years, from 2002 to 2007. The fountain itself eventually shut down on 25 March 2007 to make way for the Resorts World Sentosa. Sentosa Ferry Terminal opened in 1973, and was the first cruise center in the region. For some time it was a popular attraction which ferried 9 million passengers to and from Sentosa, but passenger traffic started to decline steadily after 1998 when cars were allowed into the island for the first time. The Ferry Terminal Monorail Station of the now defunct Sentosa Monorail once connected tourists to the western half of the island, but it no longer does after the station closed in 2005. The ferry terminal itself was demolished along with the Sentosa Musical Fountain and the Fountain Gardens that connected the terminal to the musical fountain in 2007 to make way for Resorts World Sentosa which would occupy the area. The demolition was watched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the media, and the general public. Asian Village Opened in 1993, Asian Village closed in 2000. Underwater World was an oceanarium. Opened on 13 May 1991, the Underwater World closed on 26 June 2016. Tiger Sky Tower (previously known as the Carlsberg Sky Tower) was a free standing observation tower. At a height of above ground and above sea level, it offers a panoramic view of Sentosa, Singapore, and the Southern Islands. It has a lifting speed of 1.2 meters per second and weighs 200 metric tonnes. On a clear day, the view extends to parts of Malaysia, Johor Bahru (30 km / 18 miles), Indonesia, Pulau Bintan (45 km / 28 miles) and Pulau Bintan (43 km / 27 miles). At ground level, visitors enter a large disc shaped air conditioned cabin fitted with glass windows all around. The cabin then revolves slowly as it ascends the column of the tower. The cabin has a capacity of 72 visitors. The Sky Tower sits at the very spot of what was formerly known as the Dragon Court. It had a dragon statue as the centerpiece with water spouting from its mouth. In one of its claws, it held a previous logo of Sentosa which was used in the early 1980s. Its tail ended at the Dragon Trail in the northern part of Imbiah Lookout. The statue was demolished a few months before the groundbreaking ceremony of the Sky Tower. The Sky Tower was officially opened on 7 February 2004, is situated in the Imbiah Lookout zone in the center of Sentosa and can be reached by Cable Car, Sentosa Luge Chair Lift, the Sentosa Express or by an internal bus. Tiger Sky Tower closed on 28 December 2018 after three breakdowns occurred; it was dismantled shortly afterwards. Sentosa Merlion was a gigantic 37 meter tall replica of the Merlion which was completed in 1995, housing two viewing galleries and a souvenir shop. The Merlion statue once played a role in the Rise of the Merlion, Spirits of Sentosa, and Magical Sentosa show, since the show was discontinued in March 2007 to make way for Resorts World Sentosa, The laser from the Merlion Eye never used again. The Sentosa Merlion closed on 20 October 2019 with the four shops closing from the next day, making way for a S$90 million Sentosa Sensoryscape project to be completed by 2022. KidZania Singapore opened in 2016 at Palawan Beach, as an interactive indoor theme park for children aged 4 to 17, part of the international indoor chain of family entertainment centers, Kidzania. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, KidZania Singapore closed permanently after four years of operation and laid off 103 employees.

Sentosa has a stretch of sheltered beach of more than on its southern coast, divided into three portions: Palawan Beach, Siloso Beach and Tanjong Beach. These beaches are artificial, reclaimed using sand bought from Indonesia and Malaysia. They are guarded by a beach patrol lifeguard team who are easily identified by their red and yellow uniforms. Palawan Beach lies in the centre of the southern coast of Sentosa. There is a suspension bridge that leads to a small islet off the coast which is said to be the southernmost point of continental Asia, or Asia's closest point to the Equator. The attractions Kidzania Singapore, MOSH! and the Port of Lost Wonder are located at Palawan Beach. There are several bars along the beach offering food and beverage options to visitors as well as Beach Station of the Sentosa Express. Palawan Beach was once served by Central Beach Monorail Station, but this station closed in 2005. Siloso Beach lies on the west portion of the southern coast and it is known as the place for beach volleyball and other outdoor activities such as canoeing, skimboarding, mountain biking and rollerblading. There are also dining and shopping outlets along the beach. The beach underwent a SGD$3 million facelift in December 2012. The Rasa Sentosa Resort is located at the western end of Siloso Beach, along with the Siloso Beach Resort and the Costa Sands Resort Sentosa. It is the location of attractions like AJ Hackett Sentosa, Wavehouse, iFly Singapore, and Wings of Time. Tanjong Beach is located on the relatively more secluded eastern part of the coast. The crescent shaped beach is sometimes used for special events or parties. The Tanjong Beach Club is now the main draw on Tanjong Beach.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force's (SCDF) newest fire station officially commenced operations on the island of Sentosa at 8am on Monday (6 June 2016). Sentosa Fire Station, which is located at 37 Artillery Avenue, has a fleet of five emergency vehicles: two fire engines, a fire bike, an ambulance and an aerial firefighting and rescue support vehicle. It is strategically placed to provide emergency services within the island and the immediate vicinity such as the HarbourFront and Telok Blangah areas.

Fish Reflexology is a foot massage where Turkish spa fish or African spa fish nibble on the dead skin of one's feet, making the skin smooth. This is followed by a reflexology session. This is available in the Underwater World. Spa Botanica is set in the Sentosa Resort & Spa. It has facilities including mud pools and Turkish styled steam baths.

2018 North Korea–United States summit: Capella Singapore in Sentosa island was used for the 2018 North Korea–United States summit during 10 to 13 June 2018. Singapore announced the several locations related to the Trump Kim summit would be designated as "Special event areas" and secured by both leaders' own personal security teams and elite Singaporean police. Barclays Singapore Open was held yearly at the Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course from 2006 to 2012. The event was co sanctioned by the Asian Tour and the European Tour. In 2013, the Sentosa Golf Club began hosting the annual HSBC Women's Champions golf tournament, played at the Serapong Course until 2016 and since 2017 at the Tanjong Course. Sentosa Balloon Hat Festival began in 2004. It is a gathering of local secondary school bands who would do display marches from Tanjong Beach to Palawan Beach before a mass display event. The participants would wear balloon hats made by themselves and each school comes up with their own unique design. At the end of the event, all the students would pop their balloons followed by the release of a large number of balloons into the air. The event began as part of an attempt to create the world record for the gathering of the largest number of balloon hats. It was discontinued after 2006. Beach parties: Hed Kandi, a dance music label owned by Ministry of Sound, began a monthly dance party on Siloso Beach in 2011, drawing over 14,000 visitors over a seven month span. The Hed Kandi events and Ministry of Sound events are produced by SEAM in Singapore. The Siloso Beach in Sentosa is host to the annual ZoukOut beach dance party organised by Zouk nightclub. On 10 December 2005, some 18,000 people attended the event. A New Year's Eve party, Siloso NYE Splash (later rebranded as Siloso Beach Party), is also held annually at Siloso Beach. On 31 December 2005, the party attracted some 15,000 people. Sentosa Flowers: Running from 2005 to 2013, the annual Sentosa Flowers event showcased rare and special blooms unique to the spring season. The event, which coincided with the Chinese New Year or "Spring Festival" celebration in Singapore, hosted other activities including mural painting and photography competitions and a festival market for gardening enthusiasts. The Swatch FIVB World Tour 2007 for beach volleyball was held on 24–27 May 2007 at Siloso Beach. This was the first ever Women's World Tour event and was the biggest ever beach lifestyle event hosted on the island. This was also the first time Olympic level athletes competed on Singapore soil for Beach Volleyball. Experience Mars was held on 12 and 13 November at Palawan Beach as part of National Geographic's promotion of its six part TV series "MARS". Sandsation was held at Siloso Beach on 1–17 September 2017. Peroni Sunset Cinema is a seasonal open air cinema held at the beachfront. It offers audiences the opportunity to watch films on headsets in a silent environment in deck chair seating. The movies are accompanied with DJ's before the films start, sunset drinks and coastal cuisine.