Some people believe that there is a hidden energy in the world. They believe that working with or against that energy can bring us good luck or bad luck. They might also believe that the energy will act as a gateway to hidden worlds.
The Chinese call this energy qi. In the West, it is thought to be some form of magnetic energy which forms into lines called ley lines.
Qi - May the force be with you
Fung shui is an ancient system of arranging buildings and other important objects in relation to natural energy. Before the compass was invented, fung shui masters would use the stars to decide where tombs or palaces should be built. In fact, the magnetic compass was invented for fung shui. It made it easier for masters to decide how buildings should be aligned.
Mostly this mystical alignment was just common sense. Houses would be placed where they would be sheltered from storms, get good sunlight, have a water source nearby, or be halfway up a hill so that enemies found it hard to attack.
Modern Chinese cities still use fung shui. Hong Kong even has special tours to show off its fung shui to tourists. Local legend tells of the battle of the banks: HSBC's strong square versus the cutting triangles of the Bank of China (BoC). Former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa refused to live in Government House because he believed the energy from the BoC building would bring him bad luck. In 2010, Hong Kong admitted spending billions of dollars to make sure its buildings had the right fung shui.
Ley lines