Feng Shui of Liu He Pagoda

FENG SHUI OF LIU HE PAGODA (SIX HARMONIES PAGODA), HANGZHOU, CHINA

The Liu He Pagoda which was also known as the Six Harmonies Pagoda is a Chinese Pagoda with seven interior stories. It was built on a peaceful spot facing the Qiantang River at the foot of Yuenlun Hill in Southern Hanzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

It was built during the reign of Song Dynasty. The name ‘Liuhe’ comes from the six Buddhist ordinances and the reason for building the pagoda was to calm the tidal bore of the Qiantang River. Tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave (or waves) of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay’s current. The Qiantang River has the world’s largest bore, up to 9 metres high, and traveling at up to 40 kilometres per hour. Thousand years ago, the pagoda was used by fishermen. They put light buoys near the river to guide the ships at night.
The pagoda has an octagonal shape with a door on all the eight directions. Its height is estimated to be 60 metres. The pagoda has only seven stories but from the outside, it looks like as if it has 13 stories. There is a spiral staircase leading to the top floor and upon each of the seven ceilings are carved and painted figures including animals, flowers, birds and characters. Each story of the pagoda consists of four elements, the exterior walls, a zigzagged corridor, the interior walls and a small chamber.
The pagoda was burnt down at least 14 times for various reasons and was almost completely destroyed during warfare in 1211. Film stars Hang Nai, Zhau Dan, Lang Yue and Du Xiao had their marriage here and all of them ended up in a divorce.
The pagoda is one of the most famous pagodas in mainland China and was placed under China’s protection in 1961, attempting to turn it into a place of interest for tourists. The scenery around the pagoda is very fascinating – having lush trees, a crystal clear river, blooming colorful flowers, twittering birds flying around and full of fluttering butterflies. Having these great and amazing qualities, this pagoda is supposed to be crowded with tourists. However, this supposed-to-be famous tourist spot was often deserted. It does not attract tourists and its name is not often included in the tourism itineraries. Tourist buses which pass by this fantastic pagoda don’t even bother to stop for a while to visit it. Instead, the tour guides will just briefly explain to the tourists about this pagoda. Why is this happening to this fantastic pagoda?

IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A PLACE OF GOOD FENG SHUI BUT WHY IS IT DESERTED UNTILL TODAY?
To answer this question, Master Tham travelled all the way to Han Zhou to disclose the mysteries of Feng Shui hidden behind this pagoda. He woke up as early as six in the morning to pay this particular pagoda a visit. He was fascinated by the natural beauty of the location. However, he was surprised by the ambience of it, peaceful yet ‘lonely’. He took out his Luo Pan and begin examining the Feng Shui throughout the area. Finally, with his years of experience in the Feng Shui field, he found out that each angle of the doors were wrongly constructed and will eventually unable to absorb the good Chi.

THE DOORS WERE WRONGLY CONSTRUCTED
The main door was built wrongly at the front of the pagoda. They changed the door, using the bad door as the main entrance into the pagoda. They even closed the old entrance. However, that will not increase the positive Chi to attract any tourists to this place. The correct position of the door should be at the back. The front door is facing a killing Chi and it is very inauspicious. Anyone who entered the pagoda will feel like going away. Master Tham later found out that there was a pond with a shape of a half-moon was also built wrongly behind the pagoda. According to him, the pond is supposed to be a Feng Shui enhancer which brings good Feng Shui for the pagoda. He could not understand why they construct the pagoda facing the front as they are having good Feng Shui at the back. He said that if the main door is opened at the back, the pagoda will then be crowded by tourists, becoming more and more famous and move ‘lively’.
In order to enhance the Feng Shui of the Pagoda, some changes needed to be done to the building. The door, some exterior landscaping, and interior features have to be changed as well.