A beautiful piece of work can be found in front of Block 85 of Whampoa Drive.
Built in the early seventies together with the small quiet town of Whampoa, the dragon fountain has been a symbolic landmark in that area. The Central Expressway (CTE) lies just opposite the fountain.
The majestic 4m-tall Chinese dragon is situated in the center of the fountain, looking to surge towards the sky. Its slender body is covered with small bits of porcelain, carefully pasted on one by one.
However, the fountain has stopped functioning years ago. The water was cut off, dried leaves are clogging the drainage system and the dragon shows certain magnitude of damage under years of exposure to sun and rain; the most obvious is a broken claw.
It will be a fascinating sight to see the water being spouted from the dragon mouth again, but it will take a major revamp to make the fountain works again, and such plans are unlikely in the near future.
During the evenings, the residents of Whampoa like to gather at the nearby park to exercise or chit-chat, whereas children love to run around the fountain. Hope this beautiful artifact can be preserved and restored in years to come.
Published: 22 October 2010
Updated: 05 October 2011
I am just teen ,i was not around when this majestic piece of artwork was built. But from what i heard from my mother,she tells me that this dragon used to spout water.I love the dragon fountain.If they could, why not replace the drainage pipes and get the fountain working again.
If they could build the casinos why not save and fix a piece of our national heritage ?
agreed with you Faith…
the authority should restore this beautiful artifact
There’s no profit doing this. It will be left to rot.
I LOVE THE DRAGON !!!!!!!!!!!!
SAVE IT !!!!!!!!
I used to play at this garden, and of course run around the dragon fountain, as a kid. This is about the only unique structure left standing (besides the old HDB flats; mine was demolished long ago!) in this estate in the recent decades. Hope the authority preserve & restore it.
yeah, agree they should maintain this dragon! I also use to play around this small park. It’s a trademark for whampoa.
Hi. Do you happen to know who is in charge of this dragon? I have a plan in mind.
It may be the Moulmein-Kallang Town Council who is in-charge of the estate of Whampoa..
Do share with us your plan
, it would be really nice to see this dragon spouting water once again.. its rare to see this kind of things in HDB estates these days..
They are going to refurbish this fountain next month! But sadly it still won’t spout water due to fears of mosquito breeding and plants will take the place of the water instead. The dragon statue itself will be cleaned using an anti algae substance usually used in conserving most heritage landmarks.
Great news!
Dragons seem to have a short life, like Puff. Dragon Point in Brevard County, Florida, at the southern tip of Merritt Island allowed its dragon to fall into the sea because of neglect and inability to decide history has a legitimate place with commerce. A beautiful sight he was seen from the causeway or from a boat.
Err … is the dragon re-stored already … ?
It was left there with no maintenance. So sad,,
Creator was my old neighbour staying in Queenstown, his other work can be found at Old Queenstown CC wall.
(Source: MyPaper)