Bearing a lion's head on the body of a fish, the Merlion was chosen as a symbol to commemorate Singapore's humble beginnings as a fishing village known as Temasek in ancient times and the subsequent renaming of Singapore as Singapura (Lion City) by a Sumatran prince.
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The Merlion is a mythical creature with a lion’s head and the body of a fish. The lion head symbolises the “Lion City”. According to the Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) written in the 15th century, Prince Sang Nila Utama of the Srivijaya Empire renamed the island Singapura or “Lion City”, after spotting a lion here. The body of a fish symbolises the ancient Temasek or ‘Sea Town’, which was Singapore’s early name.
Designed by Kwan Sai Kheong, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Singapore, and crafted by Singaporean sculptor Lim Nang Seng, the Merlion stands at 8.6 metres and weighs 70 tonnes. It was first unveiled on 15 September 1972 by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, at its former site by the mouth of the Singapore River, near the Esplanade.
The building of the new Esplanade Bridge blocked the view of the Merlion and it was decided to move it to its present location in 2002.
From here, you can get a good view of a unique building with two spiky dome-shaped roofs, the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore’s performing arts centre. The idea of building this arts centre was mooted as early as 1989. It took six years to complete and was officially opened by President S R Nathan on 12 October 2002.