IT’S DESCRIBED as the “Patron Saint” of Singapore and referred to in Mandarin as the “lion-headed fish”.

A splitting replica of Singapore’s Merlion exists in a “Window of the World” attraction in Shenzhen, China, but with some bizarre differences.

For starters, the Merlion replica – one of the 130 reproductions of tourist icons in the theme park – bears a different Mandarin name from the original.

On its accompanying information panel, the Shenzhen sculpture is called the “lion-headed fish” （狮头鱼）, noted netizen Bernard, who visited the park and sent in his comments and pictures to Stomp (The Straits Times Online Mobile Print).

But in Singapore the merlion is known as the “fish-tailed lion” (鱼尾狮), he said.

During his visit earlier in March, Bernard also noticed that the Merlion was called the “Patron Saint” of Singapore.

“From what I know, the Merlion is a symbol created by the Tourist Promotion Board, it is entirely fictional, not related to any local myth or legend. A national patron saint? Definitely unheard of!” he said on the Stomp website.

Standing at 4-metres tall, the Shenzhen replica also claims a faithful 1:1 reproduction of its original.

"What makes me wonder is, do other Singaporeans who visit the theme park also notice the mistakes too? Will the STB be so kind as to inform the theme park to amend the mistakes?" Bernard asked.

Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: Stomp)