Haw Par Villa

The expansive grounds of Haw Par Villa—once owned by brothers Aw Boon Par and Aw Boon Haw, who created tiger balm—house vividly painted sculptures an dioramas depicting Chinese stories. One of these is a cave in which there are extremely graphic representations of hell in Buddhism; apparently Singaporeans take their children here to keep them on the right path! This picture is from one of the less graphic displays—another had two demons sawing someone’s head open. But not all is lost! After serving their sentence, sinners are led to the pavilion of forgetfulness, where an old lady, Meng Po, hands them a cup of tea that helps them to forget their past lives before they leave through one of the six paths of the wheel of incarnation.Les mer