The Singapore skyline in ink and watercolour, as the game paints it

Singapore paper plane game

City 18 of 21 · Singapore · Asia

Fly between the Supertrees and over Marina Bay as the lights come on.

Low shophouses all the way to the bay. Get past the great hornbill, then the Harbour Elder.

The city

The Lion City

Singapura means lion city. A Malay legend tells of a prince, Sang Nila Utama, who saw a strange beast on the island about 700 years ago and took it for a lion. For centuries ships stopped there on their way between China and India. Singapore became an independent country in 1965.

“I'd look out for the prince's lion.”

The landmark

The Supertrees

In Gardens by the Bay, eighteen Supertrees stand 25 to 50 metres tall. They are made of steel and covered in more than 160,000 living plants: ferns, orchids and vines. Some carry solar panels in their crowns. The garden opened in 2012 on land won from the sea, and every evening the Supertrees light up to music.

Neighbourhoods

The old town grew up in separate quarters. In Chinatown, the Sri Mariamman Temple is the oldest Hindu temple in Singapore. Its first building, of wood and palm thatch, went up in 1827. Little India grew along Serangoon Road. In 1824 the British recognised Kampong Glam as the land of the Sultan of Johor's family. Its Sultan Mosque has two large golden domes.

The river and the bay

The Singapore River is about 3.2 km long. It runs from Kim Seng Bridge to Marina Bay, past Robertson Quay, Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. In 1977 the prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, called for the river to be cleaned up, and the foul mud was dredged from its bed. The Merlion, an 8.6-metre statue with a lion's head and a fish's body, was unveiled at the river mouth in 1972. Since the Marina Barrage opened in 2008, the bay has held fresh water, the first reservoir in the city centre.

The skyline

The towers of the financial district crowd around Raffles Place, just south of the river mouth. Because of flight paths, buildings there are kept below 280 metres. Guoco Tower was allowed to go higher, and at about 290 metres it became the tallest building in the country in 2016. Across the bay, the three 55-storey towers of Marina Bay Sands opened in 2010. They are joined at the top by the SkyPark, a 340-metre deck.

When to see it

Come after dark. Every night at 8 pm and 9 pm, Marina Bay Sands puts on Spectra, a free 15-minute show of lights and water over the bay. You can also watch it from Merlion Park across the water.

Two keepers

Who keeps the wish in Singapore.

An Elite wakes first; the Boss guards the wish itself. Hit their weak points for a BONK!, land the last blow for a KO!, and each one grins and takes a bow.

The Elite
The Great Hornbill

Wings like a steam train · Keeper of the Supertrees

Great hornbills live in the rainforests of South and Southeast Asia. On top of their huge yellow bill sits a hollow helmet called a casque. Their wings beat so loudly that people compare the sound to a steam train. At nesting time the mother seals herself inside a hollow tree, and the father feeds her through a narrow slit.

The hornbill hops along its branch, a twig for the nest in its beak, and eyes the plane. The hornbill flaps, nearly drops its twig and catches it again. The hornbill bows its big casque and flies home to its nest with the twig.

“I'd plant a tree for its nest.”
The Boss
The Harbour Elder

Merlion of Marina Bay · Keeper of the harbour

Singapore's Merlion, half lion and half fish, was designed in 1964 as the emblem of its tourist board. The lion head recalls the prince who named the island Singapura, Lion City. The fish body stands for Temasek, sea town, the island's old name. Since 1972 a Merlion statue has spouted water by the river, now facing Marina Bay.

The Harbour Elder settles on his curled tail, strokes his long grey beard and smiles at the plane. The Elder's eyebrows shoot up, and his next ring of water comes out wobbly. The Elder chuckles, waves the plane past and blows one tiny ring for luck.

“I'd fly straight through one of his rings.”