Did Nezha Drop His Wind Fire Wheel in Singapore?
According to Chinese folklore, the deity Nezha flies around using the Wind Fire Wheels given to him by his teacher. What will happen now that his Wind Fire Wheel is here in Singapore?
The Singapore Flyer observation wheel bears a striking resemblance to Nezha’s Wind Fire Wheel. This powerful weapon can be thrown at attackers as well as used for flying around the heavens. Similarly, the Singapore Flyer was the world’s biggest observation wheel until March 2014. Not only is it a tourist attraction, but it plays an important role in Singapore’s feng shui!
How so, you ask?
Singapore is a tiny nation and only through land reclamation are we able to increase our land area. However, because of land reclamation, our two “Water Dragons” – the Singapore River and Kallang River – were transformed into “Dragons Swimming in Shallow Water”, unable to swim out to the ocean.
The “city reservoir” formed by Marina Barrage effectively increases Singapore’s water reserves, but has drawbacks in terms of feng shui. Because feng shui places great emphasis on freely flowing water, adding something to move the now-still waters of Marina Bay would have immense feng shui benefits.
Perhaps it had all been secretly planned, but a constantly spinning observation wheel just happens to fit the bill for stirring up the water at the confluence of the Singapore River and Kallang River. Word has it that the Singapore Flyer’s developers did take feng shui into consideration when designing and placing this “Wind Fire Wheel”.
For starters, the Singapore Flyer has 28 observation capsules, and each capsule can hold 28 passengers – all using the numbers 2 and 8. In the Cantonese dialect 28 sounds like “easy to prosper”, bringing good luck; some even believe that this uses the feng shui theories of “inherent numbers” and “forming ten” – we won’t go into details here, but suffice to say rumours fly aplenty!
One thing we do know for sure is that after listening to advice from a feng shui master, the Singapore Flyer reversed its direction of rotation on 28 July 2008 due to disappointing revenue. Unfortunately, even after this adjustment, business did not improve.
We do believe that reversing the Singapore Flyer’s direction of rotation was necessary. However, the wheel still spins on land and does not actually move the water. Hence, it would be ideal if a fountain could be built to enliven the still water. This would not only improve business for the Singapore Flyer but also boost Singapore’s economy in the long run. Here’s wishing Singapore’s “Wind Fire Wheel” a rapid ascension to take Singapore to greater heights!
