In Singapore, the physical configuration of each district has undergone vast changes in the past few decades with the most changes happening in Orchard Road. Who would have imagined that the present site densely populated by post four and five-stars hotels, was once a rural area with a cemetery? Even in the years just after the Second World War, houses in Orchard Road were spread out thinly, like a small town in Malaysia's mountainous area.More than 20 years ago, Orchard Road started to take off, yet it was still not as famous as Chinatown. Today, however, Orchard Road is famous world over, leaving Chinatown lagging far behind with very little hope of catching up.
The great transformation of Orchard Road has to be attributed to the great foresights of Teochew feng shui masters of the past. Since ancient times, grave feng shui has been greatly valued by the Chinese. If ancestral graves were located in the right spots, descendants frequently would enjoy wealth and high-ranking positions.
Orchard Road was once a Teochew cemetery hill. Little wonder then that Teochew people have done so well in the fields of commerce, finance, education and politics.
Orchard Road is the land of seven falling stars in accordance with seven heavenly stars in feng shui theory. The land of seven falling stars is a land of official. With reference to China, Singapore is situated in the southern hemisphere so she belongs to the south. Should the seven stars fall in the north, they will benefit public service. Landing in the South benefits business. A poem related to the land of seven falling stars goes:
- Seven stars fall to Earth and a castle is formed, With the presence of hilltops and waterways, It is a good time for reaping benefits, Golden tortoise and jade rabbit have a date.
Incredibly, according to the influence of the seven stars and castle, Orchard Road, Scotts Road and Shenton Way dace the direction of the earth element.
In the past, Orchard Road and Scotts Road each had a small river running through them that converged somewhere near Tangs. One was yin and the other yang; complemented by the appearance of the MRT, they were practically unstoppable when they merged.
Everybody wants to know the exact location of the land of seven falling stars. It is inappropriate to disclose this information, as it is one of the feng shui secrets of Singapore.
Today, more and more commercial centres have been built across Singapore. Will they be a threat to Orchard Road? Will Orchard Road lose its attraction? The answer is no.
If Orchard Road is linked to Marina Bay, its landform will be similar to Shanghai's Nanking Road, where the road stretches all the way to the sea. The only difference is that before reaching the port, this stretch of Orchard Road is divided into many sections, the most prosperous section is between Shaw House and Le Meridien Singapore, followed by the section between the Istana and Cathay Cinema. The other sections are rather ordinary, with the exception of the prosperous Plaza Singapura, which is where Orchard Road ends.
Since the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station has become a major MRT interchange, the whole of Orchard Road area will be moving into a completely new phase of development, linking up the prosperous qi of Orchard Road.
This prosperous qi is absent all the way from Rendezvous Hotel to Raffles Hotel, and is also missing from the Singapore Art Museum and the Singapore Management University's future site. This area is a leisure and cultural zone where people enter the world of literature, art and culture to understand Singapore's culture. Moving on, the prosperous qi shows up at Raffles City and Westin Stamford Hotel, and is cut off by the War Memorial Park before ending at Marina Bay.
In my opinion, it is necessary to plan redevelopment for the area as a whole and not intermittently. As Singapore's weather is hot and humid and occasionally rainy, it can be unbearable to walk along the streets in the day. Therefore it will be great if there is an underground tunnel, which stretches all the way form Orchard Road, to Marina Bay. This will certainly be welcomed and Orchard Road, stretching all the way out to the sea, will also be like Shanghai's Nanking Road.
In order to be successful, Orchard Road needs to possess extraordinary characteristics, just like Chinatown. As a classy shopping district, shops must be laid out densely and frequently renovated to offer shoppers a fresh feeling. In the late 1990s, Singapore's retail industry was badly hit and Orchard Road was the first to be affected. In my opinion, a lack of constant renewal was the main reason. A good example was Yaohan, a Japanese emporium which closed down in the face of intense competition. Nevertheless, Orchard Road is after all a piece of treasure land, and after making the necessary adjustments, it will certainly spread its wings and launch its attack once again.
For redevelopment, the best thing to do is the link each and every building with an underpass. The youngest generation not only shops for cheap and good stuff, but also pays attention to ambience. While strolling and window-shopping, they also want to unwind. If Orchard Road develops to its fullest, it will definitely make an important contribution to Singapore's retail and tourism industries.
Orchard District - Cathay and Shaw Organizations
After the Second World War, Singapore's two major movie organization, Cathay Organization and Shaw Organization, engaged in a fierce competition to control Southeast Asia's movie industry. Each launched a mind-boggling range of blockbusters, much to the audience's delight.
In the past, both Cathay Organization and Shaw Organization were on par. Their helmsmen, the Shaw brothers and Cathay's Dato Loke Wan Tho, were business whizz-kids and movie experts. Both parties had the support of many competent and talented employees. There was, however, another inconspicuous factor for their success - the heavenly secrets behind the auspicious feng shui and landforms of both organizations' headquarters. What are these heavenly secrets?
A Swamp Turned into Land of Gold
Cathay Building sits at the junction of four main roads: Orchard Road, Bras Basah Road, Stamford Road and Selegie Road. Though its outlook unusual, it is destined for prosperity.
This place was previously known as a triangle town. It is a superlative valley land that conceals three waterways. In feng shui, this is a very auspicious land. However, such land is not suitable for high-rise buildings, as they will block the dragon's qi, which can wreak havoc if disturbed. Cathay Building was the tallest structure in Singapore at the time of its completion and had thus violated the feng shui of the valley land. However, Cathay Building had continued to prosper over the years with the help of heavenly luck.
Shaw House is situated at the junction of Orchard Road and Scotts Road, which happens to be the land of the seven falling stars. Back then; when Shaw Organization decided to erect a building on this piece of land, it was overgrown with wild plants due to poor management. This swampy area was later changed into a prosperous land - this is the wonder of feng shui.
Both Shaw House and Cathay Building are built at an angle from the main road. The feng shui masters during that time must have spent a great deal of time and effort to achieve the castle gate secret.
In feng shui theory, a location slanted at 45 degrees to the main door or traffic flow is termed the castle gate secret. However, it does not mean that any building erected at an angle will acquire the benefits of good feng shui. It requires a combination of yearly luck, the angle, the year and time of development and the hour for the grand opening. If all these are not used in the right combination, the castle gate will lose its feng shui effect.
These two buildings were erected in the age of 5 (1944-1964) and renovated in the age of 6 (1964-1984), which favours the earth and wood elements, both buildings will benefit from heavenly luck and reached greater heights.
But, Shaw House will lose out on heavenly opportunities if it loses the castle gate secret when undergoing redevelopment. Thus, even after it was demolished and reconstructed in the 1990s and the new Shaw House building does not face south, the main entrance remains southward facing. Thus the basics of feng shui have not been changed and the auspicious qi is unaffected.
In comparison, renovations have been planned for Cathay Building, starting in 2000, to complement the construction of the Northeast MRT line, the redevelopment of Dhoby Ghaut MRT station and the conversion of the Rochor district into an arts corridor. The building will still face south, confronting the mouth of the Singapore River.
Actually, the interior design of Cathay Cinema was too old and did not keep up with the times. Demolishing and rebuilding it into an integrated intelligent building will not only see a breakthrough in the merger of culture and business but will also catch people's attention. However, the new building should not be square but preferably round or oval in order to meet feng shui requirements.
Orchard District - Tangs
Tangs, previously known as CK tang, was famous in the past for not operation on Sundays because owner was a staunch Christian. Today, in the face of changing business demands, it is open on Sundays.
The founder of CK Tang had travelled from the southern part of China to Singapore to start a business. Although CK Tang's geographical location and business were not bad, it was unable to harness the blessing of the castle gate feng shui. It was through the founder's determination, perseverance and philanthropy that let to its success today.
Act According to Feng Shui Principles
The present structure of the Tangs Plaza has a strong ancient Chinese finish. It is the only building in Singapore designed this way. The building's entrance faces Scotts Road and Orchard Road. The qi is extremely prosperous and advantageous to the castle gate. Thus, its future is extremely rosy. If an auspicious day and time had been chosen for tis groundbreaking ceremony, the result should be even more rewarding.
There is an old saying that Nanyang feng shui never lasts more than three generations. This is to remind friends whose roots are in Nanyang an alternative route for their younger generations' future. In the past, people who had worked hard and become rich in Orchard Road encountered many problems. Although Orchard Road is a prosperous feng shui land, it needs to be developed by the blessed in order to prosper.
After the construction of Tangs Plaza was completed, there were rumous of disputes among the Tang family. The family's worsening relations were publicised when Wheelock Place was built opposite Tangs plaza. The ownership of Tang's then Dynasty Hotel (now Marriott Hotel) fell into external hands.
At the time of writing, Tangs was about to be acquired. This is directly related to feng shui as the design of Tangs Plaza belongs to the wood element, whereas the design of Wheelock Place belongs to the metal element. Thus, the latter's conical roof is detrimental to Tangs Plaza. According to the relationship of the five elements, metal conquers weed and this confrontation will result in losses for both. When designing a building, the exterior should be given serious consideration. If a structure is in conflict with another, it will hurt both itself and the other party.
As the saying goes, Prosperous land is intended for the prosperous man; the prosperous man will be blessed with a prosperous land. Inauspicious feng shui while indeed an important aspect to address is only temporary. If one can overcome misfortune, everything will be fine. But then again, how many people are capable of overcoming it? Failure to audit feng shui will definitely lead to losses in the long run; failure to observe feng shui will mean that nothingness prevails.
Orchard District - Wisma Atria, Ngee Ann City and the Paragon
The land of seven falling stars does not enjoy a continuous rise and prosperity does not occur everywhere. However, the seven interconnected stars bless and look out for each other. As such, various parts of Orchard Road will se major change or minor prosperity.
Orchard Road has water everywhere but not roads. Roads enable each and every place to be connected as one. Therefore, buildings ought to created their own unique styles and be self-sufficient like a city.
Self-created Feng Shui Formation
In many circumstances, if a building cannot be built at a good feng shui location, it can still create a feng shui formation. Just as human beings are flexible, so is feng shui - therein lies the key to its mystique.
Whether by change or through painstaking planning, Orchard Road is full of tall buildings, conforming to the requirements of feng shui. This is indeed worth musing over.
Torrents demolishing the dragon kind's temple, safety is a blessing; Three joss sticks proffered to Tua Peh Kong, two door gods protect wealth.
A feng shui almanic by my ancestor also stated the following:
- The hall of gigantic door faces the directions of wei and chou, Arrival of water deity brings blessings; Reversing the flow of water is not desirable; there is a world of difference between incoming and outgoing water.
Nine out of 10 buildings in Orchard Road face the direction chou and wei, where is northeast and wei is southwest. In feng shui, these directions indicate that water from outside is beneficial when flowing in, but not when it flows out. It is said rolling inwards leads to an accumulation of wealth, rolling outwards signifies complete emptiness.
Torrents Demolishing the Dragon King's Temple
Owing to the powerful torrents swirling around Wisma Atria, some of the buildings across the road are heavily battered. This is called torrents demolishing the dragon king's temple.
As a result, each building regarded as a dragon kind's temple must be rebuilt and fortified with dykes and dams, so as to prevent the outflow of wealth. If not good luck will be hard to come by.
Ngee Ann city sits on a plot of official stars land, which must shine in unison to prosper. The present design of Ngee Ann City is like a castle, the two towers on both sides symbolise majestic door guards protecting the castle. It is believed that the auspicious power will bring greater prosperity if the headquarters of Ngee Ann Kong Si shifts here. However, they will have to build a bastion to prevent water from flowing in a reverse direction.
Three Joss Sticks Stop Water from Flowing in the Reverse Direction
The Paragon, situated just opposite Ngee Ann City, had a unique design with three large pillars resembling joss sticks at its entrance. These three joss sticks had the ability to stop the waterway from flowing in the reverse direction. However, as the building was huge the prospect of water leakage was imminent.
The word paragon sounds like the name of the deity Tua Peh Kong. Because of the three joss sticks at the entrance, many people jokingly called it the Palace of Tua Peh King. Later, the property was very fortunate to be bought by a foreign consortium at a high price.
It was originally planned for the Paragon to be designed according to a white tiger formation. However, due to the structural design of the building, the three pillars were situated at the tiger's mouth holding its jaws wide open. It was thus be impossible for the tiger to show off its prowess. Thus, the various consortiums that had bought The paragon were beset with problems following its purchase.
In 1997, another transaction took place; I was then given a contract to audit the feng shui of the Paragon. I changed the building's formation to that of a smiling god of wealth astride a tiger welcoming and greeting the customers in a harmonious atmosphere. After the revamp, it looks more laid-back and elegant, and stands out from the other buildings at Orchard Road. Moreover, it complements the double guards of Ngee Ann City opposite. It looks like the seven falling stars are capable of displaying even greater power.
Orchard District - Grand Hyatt
One of Orchard Road's tourist host spots is the well-known five star hotel, Grand Hyatt. Its fame arises not just from its comprehensive facilities and majestic facade, but also because Reverent Hong Choon once gave it a feng shui audit.
Inducing Place Power, Not Supernatural Power
On the surface, the feng shui Reverend Hong Choon employed did not seem extraordinary. In reality, he had used the inducing palace power and not supernatural power, as many people had mistakenly believed.
Let's take the Grand Hyatt's first appearance in the early 1970s. In 1973, when Reverend Hong Choon was invited to check out the hotel's feng shui, he knew it was making good use of the castle gate principle. Unfortunately, the hotel was not in an ideal location, making it difficult to absorb water from an intersection. as such, Reverend Hong Choon made use of the inducing palace power and suggested that the hotel create a castle gate, water features, moving qi and a revolving feature at the cashier counter. What do all these mean?
To Have Both Castle and Water
According to feng shui, for the castle gate to achieve results, it is best constructed at 45 degrees from the main road. If there is not castle gate, then it will be necessary to tilt the existing entrance 45 degrees to create one.
A castle gate needs to have both a castle and water, just like an ancient castle protected by a moat. It is thus necessary to build a castle pond at the entrance. A castle pond with still water has little effect, so it is necessary to construct a fountain to provide a constant supply of water.
If qi is disturbed and becomes difficult to draw in, it is necessary to build a revolving door at the castle gate. This way, everything will be ready and just awaiting the arrival of good fortune. This change coincided with the middle period of the age of 6, when the golden tortoise (sun) and jade rabbit (moon) met, mutually benefiting each other.
The then Hyatt Regency followed Reverent Hong Choon's advice to the letter, overhauling the entrance, tilting the door 45 degrees to act as the castle gate and burying a brick in the front and back of the hotel to ward off evil. At the groundbreaking ceremony for burying the bricks, Reverend Hong Choon visited Hyatt Regency to personally give his blessings and when news of this broke out, it caused a sensation.
The procedure might look simple, but it requires a depth of understanding, especially to flawlessly co-ordinate the time and space dimensions to derive maximum benefits. Otherwise a mystery space will become a vacuum, leaving one with nothing.
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