Singapore City, known as the Lion City, is by far the largest and most significant island alongside 63 others that make up Singapore state. Here, especially at the mouth of the Singapore River, Asian tradition meets modern technology – gleaming skyscrapers tower over traditional architecture, while squat Chinese and Hindu temples stud the city. A curious blend of ancient and modern, the city is home to an ethnic mix of Chinese, Malaysians and Indians, as well as expatriates from all over the world, in a predominantly English-speaking society. These different races live harmoniously thanks to religious tolerance, increased prosperity, stringent no-nonsense laws and a constant balmy equatorial heat.

Since the island became an independent Republic in 1965, it has enjoyed a vigorous and successful free trade policy, as introduced by its then Prime Minister (now Minister Mentor) Lee Kuan Yew. This has led to an unprecedented rise in the standard of living (most city dwellers own their own homes) and exponential economic growth, due mainly to the export industry. The economy and tourist industry have enjoyed recent good health after some earlier pitfalls: Singapore’s healthy economy was dented between 2001 and 2003 during the global recession, suffering a heavy loss in tourist numbers after September 11 and the SARS outbreak in 2003. A hearty recovery since 2004 (the year that Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew’s eldest son, was elected prime minister) has seen the unemployment figures falling from 3.4% to just 2.8% by mid-2006. This has gone hand-in-hand with a buoyant 2006 for tourist figures – the all-time high of 9.7 million visitors far exceeded the Singapore Tourist Board’s estimates. Lee was re-elected in 2006.

Its world-class Changi Airport represents Singapore’s impressive efficiency, cleanliness and technology at its best, although hiding behind that façade is the more sinister means of achieving these qualities. Such cleanliness and safety in the city has been achieved and maintained at the expense of personal freedom, with those breaking the law facing canings, corrective work orders and harsh financial penalties. There are infamous on-the-spot fines for jay-walking or dropping a cigarette, while more serious crimes, such as drug trafficking, are punished by the death penalty.

Yet the financial and business districts are home to a steady stream of well-heeled expatriates who enjoy a good quality of life. In Singapore, oiling the wheels of success and becoming the best (an economic miracle to show the rest of the world the way) seems paramount. It is frequently voted Asia’s top business destination, and is regarded as one of the finest venues for international conferences, conventions and exhibitions (the IMF World Bank Annual Meeting was held here in 2006), with a fast-growing market for incentive travel.

All of this business thrives amid a constant flow of festivals and events in the ethnic quarters of Chinatown, Little India and Geylang Serai (traditionally the home of Singapore’s Malay, Arab and Indonesian communities), which mark the many religious and cultural occasions throughout the calendar. These areas have managed to retain some of their cultural identity despite the high-rise growth, modernizing and development around them. Singaporeans still rely on feng shui consultants, astrologers and fortune-tellers for advice when moving, getting married or changing jobs.

Although Raffles Hotel and a rank of good museums furnish insights into the past, modern consumer culture is the most prolific. The Great Singapore Sale dominates the early summer in the city center, and most visitors to Singapore will indulge in its competitive prices and great selection, especially in electronics equipment. And everybody comes to eat, with food outlets at every step, from traditional hawker centers to modern food courts, Asian specialties to international haute cuisine – reflecting the diversity of ethnic communities that Singapore has long been home to.