Echoes of The Forbidden Hill by Cinewav

FREQUENCY LOCKED. A TRANSMISSION FROM THE PAST HAS BEEN DETECTED.

Its fragments speak of kings and merchants, botanists and cartographers, forgotten settlements, ancient trade, colonial ambitions and a decision made deep beneath the earth during Singapore’s darkest hour.

On Sunday, 30 August 2026, the past will awaken at Fort Canning Park.

Echoes of the Forbidden Hill by Cinewav is a bilingual, location-based Amazing Race experience that invites youths to explore the many layers of history hidden across one of Singapore’s most significant landmarks.

Long before it became the park we know today, Fort Canning Hill witnessed the rise and fall of kingdoms. Once known as Bukit Larangan, or the Forbidden Hill, it was associated with the rulers of 14th-century Singapura. The surrounding area was also a thriving centre of trade, leaving behind thousands of artefacts that would be unearthed centuries later.

The hill subsequently became the site of Singapore’s earliest botanical experiments, a strategic point for maritime communication, the location of Raffles’ residence and, eventually, the home of the underground command centre now known as the Battlebox.

Every corner holds another chapter. Every landmark carries another echo.

For one evening, participants will be invited to step into these stories and become part of the unfolding mystery.

Armed with their mobile devices and working in teams, participants will navigate Fort Canning Park, intercept mysterious transmissions and complete six missions inspired by actual locations and different periods of Singapore’s history.

But there is another layer to the challenge.

In Echoes of the Forbidden Hill, bilingualism is not merely part of the background. It is central to the gameplay.

At some stations, participants may encounter the historical account in English before receiving an important clue in their Mother Tongue Language. At others, the languages are reversed. To progress, teams must listen carefully, interpret what they hear, move between languages and communicate their ideas clearly.

Available through English and Malay, Mandarin or Tamil, the experience shows how our languages can work together to help us understand history, solve problems and make connections.

By the end of the mission, participants will not simply have completed a series of challenges. They will have walked through centuries of Singapore’s story—from the world of ancient kings and maritime traders to the colonial era and the events of the Second World War.

Some histories are preserved in books.

Others remain embedded in the landscape, waiting for someone to listen.