Haw Par Villa – Weird Mythological Park

After the stroll along the Southern Ridge, I decided to take the bus (#51) just outside Hort Park, and visit Haw Par Villa.  I could have tried the number 11 bus, but it was still blisteringly humid and I was already recovering from the long walk along the Trails.  This is meant to be quite a weird place, so wasn’t sure what to expect.

Haw Par Villa is a Chinese mythological theme park, originally called “Tiger Balm Gardens” developed by the brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, the developers of the infamous Tiger Balm, as a venue for teaching traditional Chinese values.  This is meant to be quite a weird place, so I wasn’t entirely sure what I let myself in for, but decided to enjoy whatever experienced that followed!  In English, Haw Par Villa translates as Villa of the Tiger and Leopard.

The park contains over 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.  All very weird as you can imagine!