Could Marina Barrage be the culprit behind Singapore’s low birth rates?
Some say the award-winning Marina Barrage looks like a mask protecting us from the haze; others say it resembles the female reproductive system…what’s your take?
Due to forest fires in neighbouring countries, Singapore has been experiencing severe haze in recent years – to the point where there was a nationwide shortage of face masks. Luckily, Singapore has a gigantic “face mask”: the Marina Barrage, which opened in November 2008.
We’re not kidding! If you look at a map of Singapore, you’ll realise that the Singapore River, Kallang River, and Marina Barrage seem to form a “giant mask”. On the other hand, because it’s built at the mouth of the rivers, some suggest that it looks like a woman’s reproductive organs.
Marina Barrage is Singapore’s 15th reservoir. Unlike the other reservoirs, Marina Barrage is located in the city centre and functions by keeping out seawater from Kallang Basin and Marina Bay.
The key consideration in this project was finding a way to store this huge volume of water. Thus, extensive reclamation works were undertaken to redirect the flow of the Singapore River and Kallang River into the man-made Marina Bay. However, the possible impact on the area’s feng shui was neglected.
Thee Singapore River and Kallang River are Singapore’s main “water dragons”, and dragons are characteristic in their ability to swim or fly freely. Before the construction of the barrage, these two lively “water dragons” could swim freely around Marina Bay and soar towards the rest of the world, creating an impressive “Twin Dragons Heading to Sea” formation. From a feng shui perspective, “water” has to be flowing and not still.
However, the barrage blocks the “Twin Dragons Heading to Sea” formation, instead creating the predicament of “dragons swimming in shallow water” and inevitably affecting Singapore’s fertility rates! Perhaps this is also why the designers also added the Singapore Flyer here to help agitate the water together with the Merlion.
It seems that the Merlion and Singapore Flyer were respectively struck by lightning and hit by malfunctions because of the heavily obstructed qi here after Marina Barrage came into use. Of course, no one can say for sure if these incidents were caused by the barrage.
That said, have you spotted a giant number “9” around Marina Barrage? Does this have to do with feng shui too? Well, according to the deductions below, we’d like to think so.
- Feng shui studies consistently indicate that the next luck cycle (years 2024-2043) will see great prosperity in the South. Since Marina Barrage in located in Singapore’s southern region, the “9” shaped design lends itself to conjecture.
- Upon careful observation, this giant number “9” also resembles a whirlpool, bringing to mind the image of rushing water.
So, is this design really influenced by feng shui? We guess only the authorities will know!
