Relax - A place for Merlion in distant lands

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Mr Jeremy-Mark Chan sees the Merlion every day.

Nothing unusual, you say? But he is not in Singapore - he lives in Chang'an in China.

The Singapore icon he sees, complete with water spouting, resides in a condominium, XinYi Chang'An No. 1, where he lives.

Mr Chan, 51, director of a Hong Kong-registered printing management company, has been based in Chang'an for 18 months. His wife and three children are in Singapore.

'Seeing a Merlion where I stay is something that makes me feel at home, a little bit at least,' he said.

That Merlion is not the only one in China. Not too far away from Chang'an is another at the Window Of The World theme park in Shenzhen.

This comes with a few mistakes in description and design. The Merlion is said to be the 'patron saint of Singapore'. It claims to be an exact replica but its 4m height is only half the actual one.

The Merlion has also surfaced in Japan - in the Nambo Paradise Botanical Gardens in Tateyama, Chiba, to show its association with the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Over in London, a Merlion does duty in the Mystic East area of the Chessington World Of Adventures theme park.

The Merlion was designed in 1964 by Mr Fraser Brunner, a curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, as an emblem for the then Singapore Tourist Promotion Board. Its lion head represents the animal spotted by Prince Sang Nila Utama, founder of ancient Singapore, then called Temasek. The fish tail symbolises Temasek, which means 'sea' in Javanese.

The first Merlion statue was built in 1972 at the mouth of the Singapore River. Thirty years later, the 8m-tall sculpture was relocated to Merlion Park, next to One Fullerton.

There are seven Merlions recognised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) - two at Merlion Park, a 37m one in Sentosa, a 3m one on Mount Faber, another at Tourism Court in Orchard Spring Lane, and a pair in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

Of other versions abroad, STB's director of brand management, Mr Chang Chee Pey, said it is happy to see that the Merlion is well-received.

'Use of the Merlion statue overseas, if done in the right representation and spirit, is welcome,' he said.

Back in Chang'an, Mr Chan said the condo's promoter is 'fully aware it is a Singapore icon'. The estate's concept is touted to have a 'Singapore living atmosphere'.

For more The Straits Times stories, click here.

A place for Merlion in distant lands

By Debby Kwong, The Straits Times | Wed, Jan 20 2010

The familiar icon makes one Singaporean feel at home in China. Other replicas can also be found in Japan and Britain.

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merlion