The Merlion

(Picture from The Flying Kiwi)

They say you haven't really been to Singapore if you haven't gone to Merlion Park. It's the home of the famous Merlion, the "lion head with a fish body resting on a crest of waves," after which the park is named.

The Merlion was designed by Mr. Fraser Bunner, a curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, as an emblem for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board. The lion head represents the lion that Prince Sang Nila Utama spotted when he rediscovered Singapore. The fish represents the ancient city of Temasek (which means "sea" in Javanese), which was what the island was known as before the Prince named it "Singapura" ("singa" means "lion" and "pura" means "city"—in Sanskrit).

The Merlion stands 8.6 meters tall and weighs 70 tonnes, built by Mr. Lim Nang Seng, who also built a smaller Merlion statue (its cub). It is made of cement fondue, the skin of porcelain plates, and red teacups (for its eyes).

Originally, the Merlion and its cub was located at the mouth of the Singapore River. In the year 2002, they were moved to where they stand now, at Merlion Park, adjacent to One Fullerton Park.

Resources

Uniquely Singapore - http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/about_singapore/the_merlion.html