View allAll Photos Tagged HawParVilla
Story from Chinese folklore. The dioramas depicting the Eight Immortals invaded Neptune's place display at the Haw Par Villa.
Capture Date: 23rd Aug 2015
Haw Par Villa Theme Park. Panorama by merging five 50mm images
Built in 1937, Haw Par Villa is famous for its often gruesome depictions of Chinese folklore’s 10 Courts of Hell.
But this wonderful theme park also has more, shall we say, tasteful scenes from other Chinese legends, such as Journey to the West and Madame White Snake
Do visit www.facebook.com/mentorgraphy to view more insights into my photography
To view my varied portfolio, please visit www.mentorgraphy.com
Hell is guarded by two fearsome demons, known to chase their victims into the gates of Hell itself; their Chinese names conjure up their appearances rather literally as 'Horse Face' & 'Ox-Head'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox-Head_and_Horse-Face
The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.
It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.
The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.
Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.
The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!
www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...
Second Court of Hell is ruled by Yama King Chu Jiang. He is the ruler of Hell Huoda, the Ice Hell ( 寒冰地獄 Hanbing Diyu ).
Crime ------------------------------------------------------------ Punishment
Inflicting physical Injury, Conmen, Robbers ------Thrown into a volcanic pit
Corruption ------------------------------------------------Frozen into blocks of ice
Stealing and Gambling
Prostitutes ----------------------------------------------- Thrown into a pool of blood and drowned
Yes, The crime and punishment always scare the crap out of me when I visit the part of Haw Par Villa when I was young. I did took some pics of the punishment pits, but due to very dim lighting condition, I have very bad photos. Will post more photos of this place when I visit the park again.
SAMSUNG CSC
Capture Date: 23rd Aug 2015
Haw Par Villa Theme Park
Built in 1937, Haw Par Villa is famous for its often gruesome depictions of Chinese folklore’s 10 Courts of Hell.
But this wonderful theme park also has more, shall we say, tasteful scenes from other Chinese legends, such as Journey to the West and Madame White Snake
Do visit www.facebook.com/mentorgraphy to view more insights into my photography
To view my varied portfolio, please visit www.mentorgraphy.com
Hell is guarded by two fearsome demons, known to chase their victims into the gates of Hell itself; their Chinese names conjure up their appearances rather literally as 'Horse Face' & 'Ox-Head'. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox-Head_and_Horse-Face
The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.
It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - Gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.
The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.
Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.
The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished (particularly a wonderful fish tableaux), but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!
www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...
Seeing this particular tableaux had special significance to me, recognising it from one of my parents' photos from 1965, with my father and his parents (who died before I was born) standing in front of it. For a brief moment I felt connected to the grandparents I never met, here on the other side of the World!
The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.
It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.
The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.
Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.
The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished, but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!
www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...
Sixth Court of Hell - Yama: King Piencheng
Crime: Cheating, Cursing, Abducting others
Punishment: Thrown on to a tree of knives
Crime: Misuse of books, Possession of ponographic material, Breaking written rules and regulations, Wasting food
Punishment: Body sawn into two
The Tiger Balm Gardens, nowadays known as Haw Par Villa, are one of Singapore's most unique and iconic sites, a Chinese mythological sculpture park filled with colourful tableaux of vivid, often truly bizarre imagery.
It was begun in 1937 by the two Aw brothers (Boon Haw - Gentle Tiger, and Boon Par - gentle Leopard) who had found fortune marketing their father's popular invention, Tiger Balm, hence the original name of the park. Their intention was to create an educational theme park dedicated to Chinese culture, bringing to life various scenes from Chinese myth and legend, along with Buddhist themes such as virtue and vice, reincarnation and hell. It was intended for free public access, for families to learn from and enjoy.
The park was taken over by the local authorities in 1979 and sadly it's revamp in the 1980s was not a happy one, as it was decided to make it into a paying visitor attraction through transformation into the 'Dragon World' amusement park, which entailed some of the original tableaux and sculptures being removed to make way for rides, and hefty entrance fees introduced, never part of the founders' vision.
Over the years visitor numbers decreased sharply and the amusement park elements were eventually dismantled, leaving the sculptures as the main attraction once more and the park is again free to enter, though sadly short of visitors compared to the height of it's popularity when whole crowds thronged the place in the 1960s. Part of the problem lies in it's distance from the centre of Singapore, though with the new Haw Par Villa MRT station opening next door in 2011 getting there now couldn't be easier.
The Tiger Balm Garden was somewhere I'd longed to see since childhood, having heard my parents descriptions with their photos of this fascinating, surrealist landscape of exotic sculpture (their last address in Singapore was a flat not far away on Pasir Panjang Road). It is a great pity a few of the pieces they photographed have since vanished, but the bulk remains as it was, and to finally be visiting it myself was an amazing experience, there was simply no question of us leaving Singapore until we'd done it!
www.kuriositas.com/2011/01/haw-par-villa-unusual-singapor...