26.7 million tourists per year come to Hong Kong, making it the most visited city in the world. Is it because of feng shui and eight thousand skyscrapers (that’s double of New York) or because there is no fourth floor (unfortunately, the Chinese word for death is similar to digit 4, making it ‘unlucky’)? Let’s find out.
Hong Kong (commonly abbreviated as HK) was a former British colony until 1997 and has a population of 7 million.
Feng shui and armchair arrangement
If feng shui armchair arrangement when you have a support of the mountain or a wall is highly prized. Hong Kong has nice support of the mountains. But buildings which have that kind of shape are also very auspicious, for example, The Peninsula hotel with panoramic views of the harbour.
Views
The Peak Tram (since 1888) has been transporting people to the top of the peak of the mountain the Victoria Peak (the highest mountain on the island, 27 degrees inclination) and Sky Terrace 428 – the city’s highest observation point (396 meters). If you’ve been following my blog about feng shui of different cities, you know that I like to start my feng shui evaluation with panoramic views of the places. Our brains like to have an overview before delving into details. Hence I strongly recommend when you start your visit to a new place – go high.
Bank of China
Opened 1990 and designed by Chinese-American architect IM Pei (1917-2019). The controversial design with cutting / shar chi pointing at the competition is worth feng shui eyes.
The International Commerce Centre
484 meters tall with the world’s highest swimming pool.
Mong Kok (busy corner in Cantonese)
130 000 people in 1 square kilometre, making it the most densely populated area on the planet.
Travelling by Star Ferry between Hong Kong island and Kowloon is a neat way to see Hong Kong from the sea level.
Cable car to Lantau (Ngong Ping 360) over South China sea takes 25 minutes (length 5.7 km, the longest in Asia) and offers another aerial view of the area and when you get there, the world’s largest outdoor, seated, 250 tons (500 000 lbs), 35 meters high (111 feet), bronze Buddha is within your reach after you climb 263 steps.
Hong Kong houses the longest covered escalator system (talking about energy flow) with 20 interconnecting escalators which are used by over 85 000 people a day.
Spiritual feng shui
Visit multi-faith Wong Tai Sin temple (with other 10 000 people) which houses Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism under one roof and claims to ‘make every wish come true upon request’ which is favoured by business people who worship the fourth-century monk and wish-fulfiller Wong Tai Sin. The site is also home to the outdoor, figurative Chinese animal zodiac system.
Food & tailoring
Yuanyang (tasted at Lan Fong Yuen since 1952) is three parts coffee to seven parts of milk tea (made using evaporated milk). Stinky tofu is a famous food in Hong Kong (you either love it or hate it – like marmite). Snake soup is another (made with five different types of a venomous snake and apparently with healing properties). Or you can opt out for something more familiar as dim sum (originally served as a snack with the morning tea).
Hong Kong is synonymous with bespoke tailor-made suits, which can be made to measure in 24 hours.