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Merlion Statue, Singapore

Merlion Statue, SingaporeMerlion Statue, Singapore (28 July 2017)


Merlion (GPS: 1.28676, 103.85438) is a statue that is a national symbol and one of the best recognised icons of Singapore. The Merlion was designed by Fraser Brunner for the Singapore Tourism Board in 1964, and was used as its logo until 1997. It is a statue of a lion head with a fish body resting on a bed of waves. The present Merlion Statue at Merlion Park is in fact the second statue.

The original Merlion statue is much smaller. Made of plaster, it was only 3 metres tall. The statue was installed at the tip of the Singapore River mouth, on the inner side of the Esplanade Bridge.

The statue was built by the late Singapore craftsman, Lim Nang Seng. Mr Lim used broken porcelain plates to make the skin, and for the eyes, he used small red teacups, in a way, incorporating a bit of chien nien technique usually employed in temple roof designs into a modern sculpture.

After the construction of the Esplanade Bridge, it was decided that the Merlion Statue be moved 120 meters, to the other side of the bridge, next to One Fullerton. The original statue was demolished, and the present one, made of concrete replaces it.

The present Merlion Statue measures 8.6 meters tall and weighs 70 tonnes. It was was unveiled by then prime minister Lee Kuan Yew on 15 September 1972.

Merlion Statue is on the Map of Marina Bay, Singapore


Merlion Statue, SingaporeMerlion Statue, Singapore (28 July 2017)

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About this website



Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.
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