What is the Singapore Merlion? That has to be one of the most asked questions we get as tour guides here in Singapore. If you’ve never been to Singapore you have probably never hear the word Merlion before. If you have visited it you no doubt have seen it, or at least seen pictures of it. So what is the Singapore Merlion?
Singapore. The Lion City
The Merlion is a mythical creature that was created by a designer in the 1960’s.
So let’s start with the Lion part. There is an old tale a Malay prince was shipwrecked on the island known as Temasek (now Singapore). He and his crew saw what they believed was a lion and aptly named the island Singapura which is sanskrit for Lion City. Whether the animal was a lion or not remains a point of contention. No lion has ever been reported on the island, apart from in the zoo.
What about the Mer in Merlion?
So the mer part of Merlion comes from Singapore’s history as a small fishing village. Back in the 1960’s the Singapore Tourism Board were looking for an icon that would brand Singapore. A designer called Fraser Brunner in 1964 merged the tale of the lion to Singapore’s humble fishing village beginnings. And hence the Singapore Merlion was born. It was used to market Singapore ever since. It appears on clothes, postcards, tv adverts, everything.
The Singapore Merlion Park
You can visit the famous Merlion statue at Merlion park which is right next to One Fullerton. Be warned however. This is a must see attraction for the large bus groups of tourists. If you go during the day you will most likely be pushed around by over enthusiastic Chinese families and their group. The best time to see it is early in the morning as the sun’s coming up. There’s no tourists here at this time and you can enjoy a nice walk around the marina.
To find out more about Singapore join our mailing list. Singabites runs the best food tours in Singapore. If you’d like to explore Singapore like a local check out our tours page at www.singabites.com/tours
