Established in 1822-1823, Ying Fo Fui Kun is the oldest clan associations in Singapore. At a time when development in Singapore was in its infancy, Ying Fo Fui Kun's clan house was amongst the first buildings in
Telok Ayer, where the island's earliest
Chinese settlements were located. Ying Fo Fui Kun began life as a
temple, serving the needs of Hakka immigrants from
Jia Ying prefecture in
Canton. Its
founder, Liu Runde (), envisaged Ying Fo Fui Kun as a public institution that would not only provide
welfare services — the conventional role of a clan association — but also act as a
kinship bridge between the Hakka community in Singapore and
China. Ying Fo Fui Kun looked after the welfare of its members, finding
accommodation and jobs for newly arrived Hakkas and making
funeral arrangements for deceased clan members. In 1905, Ying Fo Fui Kun opened what was then considered a modern
Chinese school. In 1887, the Ying Fo Fui Kun bought over a piece of land from the British government to meet the burial demands of the increasing number of association members. The Ying Fo Kuan Memorial was built, and an ancestral hall was built next to it, which was called the Shuang Long Shan Wu Shu Ancestral Hall (Twin Dragon Hills). ==Architecture==