One of the most well-known tourist icons of Singapore is obviously the Merlion statue. We can see this one of a kind statue with the head of a lion and the body of a fish at the Marina bay in the southern part of Singapore, since 2002. The statue measures 8.6 metres high and weighs 70 tonnes. The original Merlion statue was built by the late Singapore carfstman, Mr. Lim Nang Seng. It’s first home was by the Singapore River back in September 17, 1972.

The idea of the merlion was designed by Fraser Brunner for the Singapore Tourism Board in 1964, then it was used as a logo in 1997 and eventually became a trademark symbol of Singapore. The lion head represents the lion spotted by Prince Sang Nila Uta in 11AD, when Singapura was re-discovered. The fish tail symbolizes the ancient city of Temasek (meaning “sea”) by which Singapore was known before the Prince named it ” Singapura” (singa for “lion” and pura for “city”) in memory of the humble beginnings of a fishing village.

There are five official Merlion statues in Singapore and you can find a tallest replica (32 metres high) of the Merlion in Sentosa Island. If we had this big-size statue in my city, I guess you will find me sitting by it on a sunny day blogging away! :razz:

Source: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]