HONG KONG
Hocus Pocus or the Real Deal?
For a place so futuristic, Hong Kong is steeped in tradition and superstition…
Sticks, stones, plants, even your own palms – in Hong Kong’s ancient folk belief systems, there’s plenty of ways to get your fortune told.
Get a glimpse into your future on our ‘Guide & Basics of Palmistry and Fortune Sticks’ tour. We’ll take you to five places in Kowloon and the New Territories to learn more about the area’s unique folk rituals, traditional Chinese customs, and how you can seek good fortune like a local.
Jade Market
Jade is very important in Chinese culture because of its beauty, practical use, and social value, and is associated with health and longevity. We’ll get to hear all about the Chinese Zodiacs (Sheng Xiao) and what to buy at the jade market to enhance our good luck, and reduce our bad luck.
Che Kung Temple
Spin the ‘fan bladed-wheel of fortune’ for some good luck! Our guide will show us the correct way to spin this famous wheel. Four festivals are held in this temple each year. The busiest time is the 2nd day of the first lunar month when people crowd the temple to worship Che Kung, turn the fan-bladed wheel of fortune and beat the drum to ensure good luck in the coming year.
Wong Tai Sin Temple
People flock to this busy temple in search of a spiritual answer via a practice called kau cim – ‘Fortune Sticks’. They light incense sticks, kneel before the main altar, make a wish, and shake a bamboo cylinder until a stick falls out which tells them their fate. We’ll get to shake the cylinder, and then meet a professional interpreter who will explain the drawn fortune stick.
Flower Market
Placing flowers and plants at the correct places is believed to be another effective way of enhancing good luck. ‘Good fortune plants’, such as Lucky Bamboo are said to help promote positive energy in your home or office.
Temple Street
Most people know Temple Street for its lively night market selling all sorts of cheap merchandise, fakes, souvenirs, clothing, electronics, and open air food stalls. However after dark, many stalls pop up offering a variety of fortune-telling services including palm reading. We’ll get to meet a professional plam reader who will look at the life, heart and head lines on our palms and then tell us all about our past and future.
