What is Orchard Road?
[[File:Plaza Singapura, Dec 05.JPG|thumb|300px|Plaza Singapura is a major shopping centre in this area]] '''Orchard Road''' is a street in the south of [[Singapore]] that has many shopping centres. == History == [[File:Photographic Views of Singapore Plate 17 Orchard Road.jpg|thumb|300px|Orchard Road in the 1900s]] Orchard Road got its name from the [[nutmeg]], [[Sichuan pepper|pepper]] and [[fruit orchards]] that used to grow on both sides of the street. It only started to develop in the twentieth century. Flash floods occurred at the road junction with Scotts Road on 16 June 2010 after 100mm of rain fell from 8 am to 11 am that morning. This was the worst flood at the junction since 1984. Shopping malls along Orchard Road like Lucky Plaza and Liat Towers were affected by the flood. The flood caused some shopping mall and underground car parks to be under the water. Rescuers had to pull out about 70 passengers from cars and buses, as flooding closed down Orchard Road, which is lined with high-end shopping malls and tourist attractions. No one was hurt. == Landmarks == Orchard Road has the [[Istana]] at the southern end of the road, which is the official house for the [[President of Singapore]]. == Shopping centres == The first shop was Tangs which was founded in 1932 and got its shop at Orchard Road in the 1950s. Orchard Road also has many well-known [[restaurants]], coffee chains, [[cafés]], [[nightclubs]] and [[hotels]]. === List of shopping centres === * DFS Galleria – This shopping mall is in Scotts Road. It mainly sells luxury items such as [[Bottega Veneta]], [[Louis Vuitton]], [[Prada]], [[Gucci]], [[Hermès]], Loewe and Bvlgari. * ION Orchard – ION Orchard opened on [[July 21]] [[2009]] and houses six double-storey flagship stores of close to {{convert|9000|sqft|m2}} each, including [[Prada]], [[Giorgio Armani]], Louis Vuitton, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier and Patek Philippe. Its signature glass façade doubles up as a giant media screen as well. [[File:Ngee Ann City Orchard Road.jpg|thumb|right