Behind Sterling Road is Mei Ling Street, with its blocks of HDB flats. As you walk around this estate, what is immediately obvious is its hilly terrain. Prior to its development in 1966, this area was dominated by two hills known as Hong Lim and Hong Hin, with a swampy valley and 'No Tail River' (Singapore River in the upper reaches) running in-between them, and dotted with farmlands and burial grounds.
Hong Lim Hill was a 17-hectare cemetery with over 9000 graves, bounded by today's Stirling, Queensway and Alexandra Roads. It was called Cheang Hong Lim Burial Ground as it belonged to this wealthy businessman's family. Hong Hin Hill, stretched from today's Mei Ling Heights to Tanglin Halt and was used for agriculture and also burial. When HDB began developing Queenstown, these hills were excavated and the earth was used to fill in the swampy valley.
In the centre of this estate, Blocks 160 and 161 at Mei Ling Street stand out for being the first two point blocks in Singapore, completed in 1970. They are the result of HDB's decision to vary building designs from the late 1960s and provide more privacy for the residents, with only four units per storey.