Fancy a candlelight dinner with extra-large, extra-bright candles?

Have you noticed the pair of giant candles at Clarke Quay?

If you’ve been to Clarke Quay, you’ll definitely have taken notice of two brightly coloured towers that resemble gigantic candles. In feng shui this is termed as “Colossal Candles”, and these twotowers actually belong to Liang Court.

The “Liang” in Liang Court, which means “bright” in Chinese, seems to emphasise the “Colossal Candles”. The name “Liang” reportedly comes from the founder’s name: Mr. GohChengLiang, so the developers likely did not intentionally build it like candles, let alone name it according to their shape. Nevertheless, these beautiful coincidences fit the place’s feng shui layout perfectly.

Liang Court, which commenced operations in 1984, is located on River Valley Road and is close to the “Tiger Land” that is Fort Canning Hill. What’s more, it squarely faces the mouth of the “tiger” where the National Theatre once stood. Those who remember the National Theatre’s architecture will recall the five-spiked façade that brings to mind tiger fangs or claws.

In such a disadvantageous environment, using the design of “Colossal Candles” is one way to counter any negative effects. After all, tigers are afraid of fire and light, so the bright orange towers help ward off attacks from the “tiger”. Even if Liang Court’s design did not take feng shui into consideration, it has certainly benefited from good feng shui.

You might then ask: if Liang Court’s “Colossal Candles” are so beneficial to it, why does business at its shopping mall seem so slow?The first 10 years after its opening in 1984 saw booming business, but since the “tiger land” provides positive as well as negative qi, welcoming the tiger to rest and play, rather than scaring it away, would be more beneficial to the area.

Do you remember? In its first few years of operation, the former National Theatre (and “Tiger’s Mouth”) had not been demolished yet. Back then the River Valley Swimming Pool and Van Kleef Aquarium there became the tiger’s playground and brought revenue to the area. However, since their demolition, the tiger lost its playground and Liang Court lost its “glow”.

The “Colossal Candles” are firelight, and are prone to being extinguished by the river’s water. Such a feng shuiformation would benefit from being built on higher ground so that it can shine even more brightly. Liang Court’s developers should seek to maintain this positive feng shui environment and avoid building fountains or pools in these towers – that would extinguish the candles’ flames and wreck the feng shui configuration! The current Liang Court mall building is also white in colour, and of course white candles symbolise something else entirely…

Now you can visit Liang Court and enjoy a romantic “candlelight dinner” by the riverside!