Day 1 : Reunions and Introductions, Superior Dragons, Sweet Spots and Significant Sources
Reported by Choo Li-Hsian.

19 April 2006 (Day 1)
Reunions and introductions take place as old friends and new hands meet at a new location in an ancient city for this year's Feng Shui of Imperial China 2006. The starting point was at the Sheraton Xian Hotel where excited banter happened over breakfast in anticipation of the activities lined up for the next 2 weeks. Students who arrived earlier and having had the luxury of seeing the famous Xian Terracotta Warriors before lessons began in earnest were busy recollecting their memorable experience to one of China 's largest tourist crowd pullers.

For the benefit of the 40-odd strong group in the Excursion , Joey revisits the basic principles behind Luan Tou Feng Shui - the study of landforms through focus on natural forms as well as formulas, with forms superseding the influence of formulas, stemming from the fact that qi emanates from the environment. Such landforms existing not only in areas where natural landforms can be openly seen by the naked eye (such as mountainous regions in the outskirts) but also in large cities.

Why Xian and Why An Hui? Joey explains that Xian, being the first capital of one of the greatest and longest reigning dynasties in China , is considered an important site from a Feng Shui perspective. This is where the first emperors started, more than 3,000 years ago, to look into Feng Shui matters and hence, it is considered one of the originating sources of Feng Shui in China . An Hui, site of some of the most potent landforms in China , is another place of special Feng Shui formations – where the practice of the artform can be seen from a macro perspective.

As the Chinese saying goes: "Live in Su Zhou, Shop at Hang Zhou, Eat in Guang Zhou, Die in Liu Zhou and Bury in Hui Zhou" Hui Zhou being An Hui, is known to be the birth place of many famous Feng Shui masters as well as powerful ministers and leaders of the country. The group will also be visiting Hunan , the childhood home of Chairman Mao as well the burial ground of his immediate ancestors (grandparents, parents). Through studying how his immediate ancestors engineered their burials and how the Chairman himself, in spite of causing the wipeout of Metaphysics in his time, has maintained his ancestral burial sites and guarded their locations jealously (as a defense against potential enemies keen to put an end to his reign of power).

The morning's orientation lecture ends with some review of technical landforms to be anticipated in the day's programme and with students boarding the coach to move on to the actual locations for some hands on practice.

Post lunch and an almost 2 hour journey, we arrive at Hua Shan, deemed to be a highly spiritual place and a must see location for any true classical Feng Shui enthusiast. Imposing sandy coloured mountain formations interspersed with green shrubbery greet us at the destination, the faces of the students bear looks of relief when told that their journey to the peak will be helped along by a cable car ride. The party reassembles at one of the many pagoda platforms at a base point before the peak to be given a quick briefing by Joey before being let loose in their groups to put their theories into practice. The rest of the afternoon saw some students making the grueling climb up multiple flights of stairs (made up of stone steps carved into the mountain face) with Joey to the main mountain peak.