Eight Trigrams Town in Teks county, Yili

What is feng shui?

Feng shui is an ancient art and science developed over 3,000 years ago in China. It is a complex body of knowledge that reveals how to balance the energies of any given space to assure health and good fortune for people inhabiting it.

Historically, feng shui was widely used to orient buildings — often spiritually significant structures such as tombs, but also dwellings and other structures — in an auspicious manner.

Feng means wind and shui means water. In Chinese culture wind and water are associated with good health, thus good feng shui means good fortune, while bad feng shui means bad luck, or misfortune.

Feng shui is based on the Taoist vision and understanding of nature, particularly on the idea that the land is alive and filled with Chi, or energy.

Principles of feng shui

The main theory of feng shui is based on the traditional theories of Yin and Yang, Luoshu, River Chart and the Book of Changes, etc. The main principles are the harmony of human beings with nature, the balance of Yin and Yang, and the balance of five elements - metal, wood, water, fire and earth.

1. Teks, Yili, Xinjiang

Eight Trigrams Town in Teks county, Yili Kazakh autonomous prefecture, north China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is the only town in the world constructed in accordance with the pattern of Eight Trigrams, a set of symbolic signs created in ancient China and elaborated by the Book of Changes, or I-Ching (Yi Jing).