Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle & Dragon Kiln

A brick dragon off Jalan Bahar, 27 metres long, with 17 pairs of eyes. It still breathes fire a few times a year.

Thow Kwang is worth the trek to the far west for anyone who makes things, or likes old things that still work. It is the oldest surviving dragon kiln in Singapore, and docomomo Singapore records it as the only one still operational. Book a pottery class or come for a browse through the yard, but contact Thow Kwang first: it is ulu, classes need booking, and the kiln itself is fired only a few times a year.

Why it’s worth the trip

The first thing you meet is the Pottery Jungle, a sprawl of glazed jars, urns and planters stacked under tin roofs, with more pots than any household could reasonably need. The reason to come is behind it. A dragon kiln is what it sounds like: built in 1940 by immigrants from Chaozhou and Fujian, Thow Kwang’s is a 27-metre brick tunnel running up a slope, with a firebox head, a long body where the pots sit and a chimney tail. Docomomo counts 17 pairs of stoke holes along its flanks, the dragon’s eyes, through which wood is fed by hand. Even the bricks are history: the side humps carry the names of old Singapore brickmakers such as Nanyang and Jurong.

Why wood when gas exists? Because flying ash and salt react with the clay to form a natural glaze that gas and electric kilns can’t imitate. Cockle shells keep the clay from fusing to the shelves, and operators once judged the temperature by the colour of the flame. A full firing runs 30 to 40 hours.

The family business has changed shape to survive. Tan Kim Seh bought the site in 1965; it made latex cups for Malaysian rubber plantations, then burial urns as Singapore turned to cremation, then imported pottery from across the region, and from the 2000s ran tours and lessons. In 2020 it was one of six recipients of the National Heritage Board’s Stewards of Intangible Cultural Heritage award. In its early years the kiln was fired up to four times a month; now it is a few times a year.

How to do it well

Go with a purpose: a wheel class (workshops run for both children and adults), a hunt for a giant planter, or a look at the kiln with someone who can explain it. Contact Thow Kwang to confirm opening times and class schedules, and ask about the next firing; if one is coming up, rearrange the week. It is at 85 Lorong Tawas, off Jalan Bahar via Clean Tech View, and most of the trip is getting there, so make a morning of it.

The kiln is listed by docomomo as “Not Conserved”, and it sits hemmed in by CleanTech Park and JTC’s Jurong Innovation District. Community groups keep visiting; the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre held a public talk on Teochew dragon kilns in August 2025. We would go while the dragon still has neighbours to outlive.

Good to know 85 Lorong Tawas, off Jalan Bahar via Clean Tech View. Pottery workshops run for children and adults; booking is recommended. The kiln is fired only a few times a year, so contact Thow Kwang directly for current opening times, class schedules and any firing dates before you go.

Thow Kwang Pottery Jungle & Dragon Kiln | 85 Lorong Tawas, Singapore 639823