Haw Par Villa
In 1937, a pair of brothers called Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par otherwise known as the developers of Tiger Balm, built and developed Haw Par Villa or popular known as the Tiger Balm Gardens. Haw Par Villa was designed to be a Chinese mythological theme park and back then when smartphones were totally unheard of, the Tiger Balm Garden was a mammoth tourist attraction in Singapore.
Haw Par Villa is located along Pasir Panjang Road. The park was originally a venue for teaching traditional Chinese values. During the 1970s and 1980s, Haw Par Villa went through several high profile management rise and fall. In 1988, the Singapore Tourism Board took over the running of the Tiger Balm Gardens and renamed it as Haw Par Villa Dragon World. The statues were carefully restored while retaining the original presentation. Plays, acrobatic displays and puppet shows were also organised. However the visitors have to pay entrance fees. The high fees became a deterrent for more visitors and eventually the management incurred a loss of S$31.5 million over a period of ten years. In 1994, the Gardens went through a renovation and although it was off to a good start, it again cannot cope with the escalating operating costs. By 1998, entry into the Gardens was free. In March 2001, the Singapore Tourism Board renamed it Tiger Balm Gardens and the entrance fees was dropped. Currently admission into the park is free; and it is open from 0900h to 1900h daily.
The Tiger Balm Gardens has more than 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese folklore, legends, history and illustrations of various aspects of Confucianism. The attractions include statues of the Laughing Buddha and the Goddess of Mercy, as well as dioramas of scenes from Journey to the West. The most well-known attraction is the Ten Courts of Hell, with gruesome depictions of hell in Chinese mythology, all set in a 60 meter-long trail of a Dragon. Visitors can learn about Chinese history, culture and traditional concepts from the Tiger Balm Gardens or Haw Par Villa.
Haw Par Villa means tigers and leopards hence it is no surprise that there are many statues of these two animals in the park. Additionally, located at United States display, there is a Statue of Liberty, at the Australia, there are Australia kangaroos and at the Japan display, there is a model of Mount Fuji.
There are three Haw Par Villa parks, also known as Tiger Balm Garden, in the world. The first is located in Hong Kong, the second in Singapore while the third is located in the Fujian Province of China. They were all built by the famous pharmacy businessman Aw Boon Haw and the name originated from the names of the two brothers; Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par. The brothers whose original nationality was in the Fujian province of China, were born in Burma, and later creates the popular “Tiger Balm” brand. In 1937, Aw Boon Par built a second Haw Par Villa in Singapore. It was the largest Haw Par Villa.(■Singapore 360°)
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About us：
- Address: 262 Pasir Panjang, Singapore
- Tel: (+65) 68722003
- Opening hours: Daily from 9:00 to 7:00 pm.
- Transport: The Circle Line station, Haw Par Villa MRT Station (CC25), is located next to it