An imaginary creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, the Merlion was designed for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board in 1964 as a promotional logo for the island. The 8.6-metre-tall, 70-tonne Merlion sculpture was created by local sculptor Lim Nang Seng using concrete wrapped around a steel frame and was designed to spout water from its mouth. A smaller 2-metre-tall statue of the Merlion, commonly referred to as the Merlion Cub, was also erected at the Merlion Park. Following the completion of the Esplanade Bridge across the mouth of the Singapore River in 1997, a decision was made by the Singapore Tourism Board to relocate the Merlion statues as they could no longer be seen from the sea. The Merlion Park was expanded and the large Merlion statue was placed at the edge of the park near the mouth of the river facing east, which was an auspicious direction according to Chinese geomancy principles. The revamped park was officially reopened by then Minister Mentor Lee in September 2002.
