Urban Legend Feature - Suntec City's Promise Of Wealth

Suntec City’s Fountain Of Wealth has long spouted a slew of myths about its fengshui powers, but is it all eyewash?

Visit Suntec City’s Fountain of Wealth on any given day and you will meet fortune seekers. Not that you will find money spurting from the 72 nozzles that line its upper ring. Neither is there a pot of gold waiting to be discovered. In fact, if you walk around its 57m perimeter, you will fond nothing to make sense of its given name.

Still, tourists and locals alike will circle the fountain three times in a clockwise direction while reaching out to touch the “lucky water” with their right hand. This ritual is believed to bring good fortune. But is there truth to its so-called powers, or is the fountain merely a clever gimmick to lure tourists? After all, it is listed as the World’s Largest Fountain in The Guinness Book of Records and attracts an average of 100,000 visitors a year.

A check with Suntec City found that the answer could lie in its construction and location. The complex, Which occupies 65,0321 sq m, was built by Hong Kong investors in phases and completed in 1997. The Fountain of Wealth was complete in early 1996. The water feature constitutes the “palm” of the structure, with the development’s five surrounding towers forming the “fingers”.

Fengshui enthusiasts believe the fountain brings prosperity to Suntec City’s stakeholders as it is smack in the middle of the five towers. Fengshui, which literally means “wind and water” in Chinese, is an ancient Chinese form of geomancy which studies both natural and manmade environments.

The fountain design was developed by an American company called CMS Collaboratives and overseen by renowned American design firm, Tsao & McKown.

Suntec City could not confirm if fengshui experts had a hand in the design, although it did not rule out the possibility. A spokesperson said: “Since the fountain is in the middle of the five towers, it is seen as wealth in the palm of a hand, which gives prosperity and wealth to the stakeholders.”

The sprawling fountain takes up 1,683 sq m. It was built at a cost of $6M and sports four 13.8m-tall bronze legs, which support a huge bronze ring with a diameter of 21m.

It is not just visitors who subscribe to its powers. Some of those who run the more than 30 eateries circling the fountain do, too. For example, a Japanese restaurant which opened in 1997 reports a dip in earnings of at least 20% each time the fountain is switched off. This happens about four or five times a year either for maintenance of when events such as concerts are held there.

But skeptics dismissed this as hogwash. Some have heard of the myths but refuse to believe in them, questioning how a fountain could create wealth.

Geomancers like Mr huang Hong Jian, 45, however, said there is basis to the claims. The fountain’s fengshui powers are governed by how the towers are positioned, he said. Water symbolizes wealth and the towers are regarded in fengshui terms as ‘mountains’, which is good. Fengshui, he explained, is influenced by the integration of two metaphysical schools – visibility and energy, or ‘qi’ in Chinese.

Visibility refers to how well the body of water can be seen from another location. In this case, the view from the surrounding towers is ‘good, with no blockage’, he said.

Qi is determined by the alignment of the planets. In Suntec City’s case, he said the criteria is met. But individual tenants should note other factors important for good fengshui. These include how the office furniture is arranged, where the door is positioned and whether the ‘right person’ is running the place.

As if Suntec City is not already awash in good fortune, other stories tell of how it has another secret weapon to boost its store of luck.

An imposing black wall in front of Millenia Walk, which is opposite Suntec City, is said to prevent its good fortune from leaking. Office workers in the vicinity are familiar with this urban legend. The granite wall was built by Suntec City’s owners at about the same time as the fountain. Standing at abut 5m tall and 15m wide, it sits across the road from Temasek Boulavard, which encircles the fountain.

But checks have shown that the wall serves more practical than superstitious purposes. It doubles as both a water feature and a housing for air vents, which expel cooking fumes from the eateries around the fountain. The air vents face the front of Millenia Walk.

The other side of the wall, which has water flowing down from 6pm to 9pm daily, faces Temasek Boulavard. A flight of staircase on either side of the wall leads to an underground walkway linking Millenia and Suntec City.

Geomancer Adelina Pang, 39, said the wall probably has nothing to do with Millenia Walk and could have been erected merely to “retain Suntec City’s own qi”. In fengshui, water is used not only to attain wealth, but also to collect good qi, which could explain why the black wall also function as a water feature.

For those who disapprove of the wall’s black hue – a colour the Chinese associate with gloom and mourning - Ms Pang has some good news. In fengshui, blue and black represent the element of water, she said. The wall already functions as a water feature, so there’s no reason for it to be black. It was probably chosen for aesthetic reasons.

Two other factors apart from good fengshui – also referred to as Earth Luck – harness nature’s energy, she added. Believers call it the “trinity of luck”. Only when fengshui is aligned with Heaven Luck (one’s fate) – and Man Luck (One’s deeds and actions) – can good fortune be assured.

So then, good fengshui alone does not guarantee blessings. The only thing that is certain, we supposes, is the constant stream of tall tales.