The great entrepreneur Aw Boon Haw constructed or rather created Haw Par Villa in the year 1937 for his brother Boon Paw, and made his name in history. This lovely mythological Chinese theme park in Singapore is a fascinating and entertaining place to spend some memorable hours of your Singapore sojourn. There is perhaps no other place like this in the whole world. Situated along the Pasir Panjang Road, this captivating and enthralling place is the quintessential abode of Chinese folklore and traditions.
This wonderful park has more than one thousand statues and around hundred fifty giant dioramas showing scenes from Chinese history, legends and folklore. The diverse aspects of Chinese Confucianism are evident in the architectures present in the park. Some of them include The Goddess of Mercy, The Laughing Buddha, The Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the most famous The Ten Courts of Hell. The Ten Courts of Hell is a portrayal of a ghastly face of underworld, its tortures and suffering set in the mouth of a dragon model, which extends up to 60 meters, much to the gasping wonder of the children.
This wonderful park was initially known as the 'Tiger Balm Gardens.' Originally Aw Boon Haw conceived this park as a place for imparting Chinese traditions. In 1979, the Aw family sold the park to the Singapore Tourism Board. In the year 1985, the park was renamed as Haw Par Villa. Then in the year 1990, the park was transformed into an amusement park and came to be called as the Dragon World. However, despite its modern makeover and enhanced cosmetic appeal, the tradition and the original concept behind this mammoth endeavour has not been compromised. Here, yesterday and today of Chinese culture and Singaporean enterprise have amalgamated to create a magical wonder, that wouldn't cease to inspire the future.
