Journey to the West Feng Shui Tour 2017 – Discusson and Findings (Pt 1: Guangzhou)
Using five element theory, the round shape (metal) is supported by the crystals (earth) and used to control the tower (wood); because in five element theory, metal controls wood. This is a case of using a controlling sequence of the five elements to overcome an insurmountable Feng Shui problem. Does it work? Perhaps. We can judge that by the performance of the business in question…
On the first morning of our tour we departed early to conduct a consultation with a client. ‘Tasty Hygge’ is a fashionable floristry business in the huge growth area of Pazhou district, Guangzhou. This island area has grown from small farming villages to a huge metropolis, especially in the past ten years.
In the distant past this area of China, with its proximity to Macao and the South China Sea and its strategic location on the Pearl River was the, “chief anchorage for ships participating in Guangzhou’s foreign trade. Traders from the “Southern Sea”, including Indians, Arabians, and most Europeans, were required to keep their ships at Pazhou while smaller craft ferried goods to and from the Thirteen Factories area of Guangzhou’s western suburbs. Traders rented storage for ships supplies and repair shops on Whampoa Island. Images of the anchorage were a common theme in 18th-century art.” wikipedia
The Pearl River runs from west to east and the small island group has the river to its north and south. It is the closest point in proximity to the city of Guangzhou (written here as KANTON):
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| An 1888 map of the mouth of the Pearl River Delta showing the locations of Macao and Hong Kong. |
As the ships sailed up the trecherous Pearl River (it was not dredged in the early days), they were greeted by a series of pagodas to the left (port) side. Reaching Pazhou Island, due to the geography of the region they were not able to go further and set anchor there.
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You can see on the map above that the river is flowing from the NW (top left) and makes a turn, splitting and flowing around the islands and then coming together again to the east (right) and flowing down from there towards the sea.
In terms of of the Feng Shui Four Animals principle, this group of islands is like the ‘red phoenix’ of Guangzhou:
In Feng Shui Zhuque should be a yang area, as it is here in this case, especially with the river running across the south of Guangzhou. Where the waters meet and become wider, that is called the ‘shuikou’ (水口 ‘water mouth’), where the qi accumulates and because in this case, the waters converge and then instead of running straight away too quickly, the water turns a corner; so the qi is able to be captured or retained. In Feng Shui, water is equivalent to wealth.
To this day, this island is still one of the most important locations for trading with the rest of the world, because on it, stands the site of the massive exhibition space, Canton Fair, the world’s biggest exhibition centre, which brings products from all over China to be displayed and sold to the rest of the world.
So you can see how Feng Shui can explain the strategic advantage of this location, and, looking back in history, we can see that for 500 years this island has remained the main trading post between China and the West.
From Guangzhou we boarded a fast train to Guilin as we headed out on our Journey to the West. (to be continued…)
I’m already planning my Feng Shui Tour of China 2018 (October). If you’d like to attend, drop me a line.
“I liked many things about Jodi’s tour, including: Many hours of formal lecture time (mornings/hotel & on bus) utilizing easy-to-follow notebook… up to the last minute of the tour! Good pace & well-planned route = a lot of feng shui learning in a short time. High calibre participants. Master Jodi Feng Shui tours attracts both newer Feng Shui students and also long-time, international professionals with advanced Feng Shui knowledge (e.g., MBAs; PhDs/Architecture; multi-faceted/multi-lingual businessmen/ businesswomen). Experienced Master Teacher and local tour organizers helped keep our bodies and belongings safe.” Diana Abed
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