Which part of People’s Park Complex Looks Like a Pearl, leh?

The late Mr Ho Kok Cheong’s fading fortune was caused by Chinatown Point’s exterior…

During the Lunar New Year, I took my son to Chinatown to trawl the night markets and soak in the ambience of this traditional Chinese festival. Naturally, as a geomancer, I also took this opportunity to introduce Chinatown’s landmarks to him. “That’s Pearl’s Hill. The one next to it is People’s Park Complex, People’s Park Centre…”with that wonderful curiosity of a child he asked: “why do the places and buildings here have ‘pearl’ in their Chinese names?”

True enough, the names of buildings here revolve around the name “pearl” of Pearl’s Hill.The roots of the name “Pearl’s Hill”, however, are unverifiable. From a Landform feng shui perspective,it’s surely due to the land’s feng shui layout. Pearl’s Hill is the head of Singapore’s “West Dragon” as well as a junction. Not only is a a feng shui treasure, it’s also the only dragon among Singapore’s “Five Dragons”that can “producepearls”. According to my mentor Grand Master Tan Khoon Yong, Pearl’s Hill has a “Flying Dragon Spitting Pearls”feng shui formation, and has spit out three rare “pearls”. Perhaps this is why this small hill was named “Pearl’s Hill” and why the surrounding buildings were named accordingly.

The child listened attentively, nodded, and then asked: “So, where are the three ‘pearls’ that were spit out?” One pearl landed in the so-called “headlands”, around today’s Yueh Hai Ching Temple and UOB Plaza. This area, being Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD), is“distinguished” (tall buildings and pricey property), so there must be a reason the old Yueh Hai Ching Temple can still remain here.

Another pearl landed at the old Banda Hill and Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre. My son disagreed, shaking his head, and said: “That theatre is so old! It doesn’t look like a pearl at all.”My wife patiently explained, “the performances held at Kreta Ayer People’s Theatre were mostly operas or carnivals by a handful of community arts groups; in a society dominated by Western culture, it’s quite amazing that the theatre has held on till now!” Perhaps this is thanks to the “pearl” of a feng shui land that it sits on?

Where, then, is the third pearl? Grand Master Tan Khoon Yong stated that this pearl’s whereabouts are“yet unknown”, but is probably somewhere in Shenton Way or Marina Bay Sands…why not spend some time hunting it down?

I have to agree with this saying:“like father, like son”. My son craves knowledge as much as I do, and looking at him reminds me of my younger self. He retorted: “So, just because you say Pearl’s Hill is the “West Dragon’s” head, I have to believe it? No way! Can you prove it?” In my heart I was laughing, but I maintained a serious expression. Obviously, some of you want an explanation to this too!

Generally, the location of a dragon’s head has powerful momentumthat will affect the flow of qi, causing instability. Although a “dragon head” can drive economic growth, a lack of regulation could lead to all sorts of trouble. In the old days, Chinatown was once a hotbed for mafia activity; Singapore River, located near Fort Canning Park (the “Central Dragon”head) also experienced security issues in the past. Invariably, police and military units were installed at both dragons’ heads, as if to “protect”the landowners. It’s undeniable that after such measures, security improved dramatically in these areas.

Dear friends, have you ever noticed this: although People’s Park Complex and People’s Park Centre are located along the same road, People’s Park Complex seems to be doing far better than People’s Park Centre. From a purely feng shui standpoint, People’s Park Complexstands out due to the fact that it stands right before the “West Dragon’s” head and mouth (Pearl’s Hill). SincePeople’s Park Complexis the “big boss”, it dominates the scene. It even created a business legend: the late Mr Ho Kok Cheong.

Ho Kok Cheong was one of the most famous property tycoons in Singapore, becoming a millionaire at the age of 27 and developingPeople’s Park Complexat the “dragon’s mouth”. At the peak of his career, he owned two penthouse units in the 30-storey People’s Park Complex (Singapore’s tallest building in the early 70’s) complete with office, billiards room, rooftop garden, and more. Grand Master Tan even recalls visiting Mr Ho’s home to survey it and seeing nine-dragon carvings in the latter’s office!

Now, you’re probably wondering: if People’s Park Complex is located at the dragon’s mouth and enjoys such excellent feng shui, why did Mr Ho Kok Cheong encounter so many ups and downs in luck? Well, a dragon’s qi is hightly potent. If the owner of the land doesn’t have a strong enoughbazi, how can it “boss” the dragon around? Eventually, when another of Mr Ho Kok Cheong’s projects – Chinatown Point –was completed, his fortunes declined. This could be the fault of Chinatown Point’s design…since it looks just like a tombstone directly facing (and swallowed up by) the dragon’s head!

Although the dragon’s head has the best feng shui, it still needs to meet that fated person – someone with enough good fortune – in order to flourish. Would you agree?