Haw Par Villa () is a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

located along Pasir Panjang Road in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. The park contains over 1,000 statues and 150 giant

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like mili ...

s depicting scenes from Chinese Literature, folklore, legends, history, and statuary of key Chinese religions, Taoism, Buddhism and

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

. During the 1970s and 1980s, the park was a major local attraction; it is estimated that the park then welcomed at least 1 million annual visitors, and is considered as part of Singapore's cultural heritage. As of 2018, under the park's management firm, Journeys Pte Ltd, efforts to revitalise the park are ongoing with the holding of themed events and the planning and construction of ancillary museums.

History

Burmese-Chinese brothers

Aw Boon Haw Aw Boon-Haw (; 1882–1954), OBE, was a Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as founder of Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin, with his ancestral home in Yongding County, Fujian, China. Career Aw was a B ...

and

Aw Boon Par Aw Boon Par (; 1888–1944) was an entrepreneur and philanthropist best known for introducing Tiger Balm. He was a son of Hakka herbalist Aw Chu-Kin.Beverland, Michael (2009) ''Building Brand Authenticity: 7 Habits of Iconic Brands'' Palgrave ...

, the developers of

Tiger Balm Tiger Balm () is an analgesic heat rub manufactured and distributed by Singaporean company Haw Par Corporation, Haw Par Healthcare. It is used for external pain relief. History A precursor to Tiger Balm called Ban Kin Yu ( zh, t=萬金油, ...

, moved their business from Burma to Singapore in 1926. The site, which is in front of a small hill and faces the

Singapore Strait The Singapore Strait is a , strait between the Strait of Malacca in the west and the South China Sea in the east. Singapore is on the north of the channel, and the Indonesian Riau Islands are on the south. The two countries share a maritime ...

, was deemed suitable based on considerations of

feng shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...

, and was purchased in 1935. On the site, a Har Par Villa was being built for the next two years. The villa was designed by Ho Kwong Yew and was of

Art Deco architecture Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920s to early 1930s, ...

. The villa was bombed by the Japanese during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and was subsequently occupied by them. After the war ended, the villa was demolished. Between 1937 and his death in 1954 (when the garden was declared public property, and turned into a park), Boon Haw commissioned statues and dioramas in the garden that served to teach traditional Chinese values. Chinese Court of Hell

In the 1950s and 1960s, before the advent of

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and shopping malls, the park was a popular recreational destination for Singaporean families. Many Singaporean adults, in a 1995 survey, reported memories of visiting the park as a child and learning about Chinese folk history and morality.In the 1980s, in a bid to restore Singapore's "oriental mystique",

Singapore Tourism Board The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of the Government of Singapore, tasked to promote the country's tourism industry. History The board was first established on 1 January 1964 and ...

saw to the redevelopment of the park (along with

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

and

Little India Little India (also known as Indian Street, India Bazaar, or India Town) is an Indian people, Indian or South Asian sociocultural environment outside India or the Indian subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with a significant concentra ...

). In 1986, the International Theme Parks Pte Ltd, announced an investment of $30 million to modernise the themed park. This company was a joint venture formed by Fraser & Neave and Times Publishing, and had invested in the latest animatronics and technology to enhance the attractions in the hope to create an 'oriental Disneyland', a theme park meeting Western technology with Eastern mythology. In 1988, Singapore Tourism Board took charge of the Tiger Balm Gardens and renamed it "Haw Par Villa Dragon World". The ''Haw Par'' in the park's name is based on the Aw brothers' personal names—''Haw'' and ''Par'', which mean "tiger" and "leopard" respectively. The dioramas and statues were restored, while plays, acrobatic displays, and puppet shows were organised and held there. The management imposed entrance fees but the high fees discouraged visitors, so the management incurred a loss of S$31.5 million over 10 years. The park management made a profit during its first year of operations after renovations in 1994, broke even in 1995, but started incurring losses over the next three years and was forced to provide free entries in 1998. In March 2001, the Singapore Tourism Board renamed it "Tiger Balm Gardens". The park is now open every day from 9 am to 10 pm (with last entry at 9:30 pm) and admission is free. The Hell's Museum requires an admission fee of SGD20 for adults and SGD10 for children. Between March 2006 and March 2012, the S$7.8 million Hua Song Museum, which focused on the Chinese diaspora, operated within the park. In 2014, artists Chun Kai Qun, Chun Kaifeng and Elizabeth Gan, under the curatorial platform Latent Spaces, staged four exhibitions in the theme park's unused spaces. Their first exhibition, ''Nameless Forms'', featured the works by the Chun twins, Darren Tesar, Sai Hua Kuan and collective Yunrubin, which respond to the place's defunct exhibition halls, idle pavilions and the materials that were left behind. In October 2020, Haw Par Villa was closed for renovations and reopened on 1 July 2021. It was originally to be reopened on 31 March 2021 but was delayed due to park operator, Journeys, needing more time to "further enhance its offerings". Haw Par Villa has been opened since 1 July 2023 after extension restoration works and has welcomed guests internationally ever since.

Attractions

The best-known attraction in Haw Par Villa is the Ten Courts of Hell, which features gruesome depictions of

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

in Chinese mythology and in Buddhism. This attraction used to be set inside a 60-metre-long trail of a

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...

but the dragon has been demolished, so the attraction is now covered by grey stone walls. After closure for renovations in 2020, the attraction was upgraded to be fully air-conditioned and the centerpiece of a 3,800 sqm Hell's Museum complex. While the park reopened in July 2021, the attraction reopened on 28 October. Other major attractions include dioramas of scenes from ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'', '' Fengshen Bang'', ''

The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars ''The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars'', also translated as ''The Twenty-four Paragons of Filial Piety'' (), is a classic text of Confucianism, Confucian filial piety written by Guo Jujing ()() Wang, Qi (). ''Xu Wenxian Tongkao'' () vol. 71. duri ...

'', ''

Legend of the White Snake The Legend of the White Snake is a Chinese legend centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian and a female snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. It is counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales, the others being '' Lady Meng Jiang'', ' ...

'', ''

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

''; statues of mythological figures such as the Laughing Buddha and

Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

, and historical personages such as

Jiang Ziya Jiang Ziya ( century BC – 11th century BC), also known by several other names, also known by his posthumous name as the Duke Tai of Qi, was the founding monarch of the Qi state. He was a military general and strategist who as ...

Su Wu Su Wu (; 140s BC - 60 BC) was a Chinese diplomat and politician of the Western Han dynasty. He is known in Chinese history for making the best of his mission into foreign territory. During his mission he was captured and then detained for nin ...

and

Lin Zexu Lin Zexu (30 August 1785 – 22 November 1850), courtesy name Yuanfu, was a Chinese political philosopher and politician. He was a head of state (Viceroy), Governor General, scholar-official, and under the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing dynasty ...

; the 12 animals in the

Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the Chinese calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year (or duodenary) cycle. The zodiac is very important in traditional ...

, and others. There are also monuments dedicated to the Aw brothers and their parents. In October 2021, the management of Haw Par Villa, Journeys Pte Ltd, launche
Hell's Museum
- a museum focused on death and the afterlife. Hell's Museum combines education and entertainment. It covers perspectives and insights on death and the afterlife across various religions, cultures, and civilisations – the result of humanity's quest over 300,000 years to seek answers to the big questions in life, questions such as “Where did we come from?” “What happens to us when we die?” and “What is the purpose of our existence?” In August 2023, Hell's Museum and Haw Par Villa was awarded Tripadvisor's Travellers’ Choice Winner. The award is only awarded to the top 10% of Tripadvisor's attractions worldwide. There are multiple honesty boxes in the park, including one for turtle food at the turtle pond priced at S$1 per packet. Joss sticks are 10 cents each and can be found at many major statues. Buggies can be found near the turtle pond, but have not been in used for some time. An amphitheatre can be found further inside the park. Cafés at the Tiger Balm Gardens include The Sixth Milestone Cafe, located beside the turtle pond and Art Journey, a now-closed gelato cafe. There is also a chinese restaurant located on the west side of the complex, as well as the Asian Civilisation Museum which will open in 2025. The east section of the park has been closed for some time. These include a larger amphitheatre, a building, a small park, and an elevated prayer pavilion.

Contemporary reception and outlook

In a 2014 study which reviewed 25 tourist guidebooks on Singapore, it was found that only the authors of one book chose to cover the park in detail. The study noted low tourist interest on the Internet, and low tourist foot traffic at the park. The study's authors also corroborated online travel reviews that some of the statues were in disrepair, and the park is ill-posed to compete with Singapore's newer tourist attractions. Haw Par Villa is, the authors note, "a treasured past, although one in danger of fading away with newer generations of tourists".

Public transportation

The Circle line station,

Haw Par Villa MRT station Haw Par Villa MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Circle MRT line, Circle line (CCL) in Queenstown, Singapore, Queenstown, Singapore. Located underneath West Coast Highway, Sin ...

, located next to it, opened on 8 October 2011 along with the rest of Stage 5 of the Circle line.

References

External links

Haw Par Villa official websiteHaw Par Villa
at

Passion Made Possible Passion Made Possible is the destination brand of Singapore, jointly launched on 24 August 2017 by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Economic Development Board (EDB). ''Passion Made Possible'' marks the rebranding of the Singaporean brand, replaci ...