Central Fire Station. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Like most important port cities around the world, Singapore's history largely boils down to two words: water and immigration. In fact, those words have been central to this droplet of land since long before it became Singapore and have continued to be so decades since it became the garden city-state that it is known as today.

"Despite sitting on the shore of the ocean, we are a resource-scarce nation when it comes to fresh drinking water," says Tan Ying Hao, senior manager from Singapore's Catchment & Waterways Department. "Throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Singapore imported more than 70 percent of its fresh water consumption from Malaysia. The proportion is now 50 percent."

One place to see the length Singaporeans have gone to to solve the problem is Marina Bay, one of the country's top sightseeing spots. In 2008 a S$226 million ($126 million) project turned the Marina Bay and the neighboring Kallang Basin into a new－and for the moment the only－downtown freshwater Marina Reservoir.

"The seawater in the reservoir had undergone a natural desalination process," Tan said. "It was constantly being flushed out into the sea as more rainwater filled the reservoir. The whole process went on for about one year and eight months."