Hong Kong Feature

There's a battle going on in Central, a battle between good and evil forces. Feng shui (pronounced foong soy in Cantonese, fung shway in Mandarin, and literally translated as "wind" and "water") is the art of placing objects to bring about yin-yang balance. In the West, feng shui seems like just another interior-design fad; here it's taken very seriously.

One school looks at buildings in relation to mountains or bodies of water. It's ideal, for example, for a building to face out to sea with a mountain behind it. (Is it coincidence that this allows for the best views and breezes?) Another school focuses on shapes in the immediate environment; triangles, for instance, give off bad feng shui. Both schools are concerned with the flow of energy. Entrances are placed to allow positive energy to flow in, and objects such as mirrors are used to deflect negative energy. Cities are often short of such natural feng shui improvers as babbling brooks, but not to worry: a fish tank is a fine alternative.