Whether you believe in it or not or not, feng shui is pretty damn interesting, especially when you start looking into the huge impact it has on Hong Kong life.
It may be fun to rearrange your tiny apartment in mind of channelling positive energy (“qi”) by aligning the sun, moon, stars, seas and mountains, but did you know feng shui is still a multi-million industry here?
London-based graphic designer Olivia Wiltshire kindly pushed Hotelclub’s fabulous “Looking For Luck” infographic under our noses, raising a few eyebrows in the process. It details Hong Kong’s obsession with feng shui and a few facts you probably didn’t know. Check it out!
Speaking to Coconuts HK, Wiltshire said, “The infographic exposes how feng shui remains relevant and important in present times, and that’s despite the fact it was outlawed as pure superstition by mainland China years ago. The fact that buildings are modified to counteract potential bad feng shui, that city officials pay out for feng shui compensation, and that people enlist help from feng shui consultants validates that this ancient philosophy is of great importance to modern life in Hong Kong.”
According to the HotelClub, Hong Kong’s officials recently spent HKD10million on feng shui compensation, and the ancient Chinese practice has influenced major architectural sites around the city. For example, the two famous bronze lions out the front of Hong Kong’s HSBC building supposedly protect the money within, while the two model cannons installed on the roof negate the aggressive energy that emanates from the pointy Bank of China Tower opposite.
Buildings in Repulse Bay also have gaping holes in the middle to allow dragons from the mountains to pass through and drink from the ocean. “Why not fly above rather than go through?”, you may ask. We don’t have a good answer to that, but we think it’s got to do with not wanting to piss off the dragons in general.
And did you know that Disneyland’s entrance was shifted a WHOLE 12 DEGREES to bring prosperity by allowing a bend in the path from the train station? It seems to have done the trick, but imagine how much Hong Kong’s beloved construction workers must have grumbled about that!
But while the city’s buildings have all been shaping up for some good luck, railway lines, telephone lines and construction sites have been declared damaging to “qi”. No wonder all the new MTR projects are going south!
And even if you think it’s all just a bunch of hocus pocus, feng shui generates big money, with senior feng shui consultants charging up to HKD16,000 an hour for their services. Maybe we should all consider a career change, but be warned of the dangers of ending up like Tony Chan, who advised his super rich clients to bury and burn money, and is now serving a 12-year jail sentence for fraud. Doh!
So after all that research, is Wiltshire convinced?
“I do believe in feng shui principles, especially when it comes to the layout of rooms and how this can have benefits to one’s health, but I probably wouldn’t go to the extent of realigning my home although I think that’s partly because this philosophy is less prevalent in England. If I lived in Hong Kong perhaps things would be different!”
