I was working as an interior designer in London in the 1980s when I first heard about the Chinese practice called feng shui that appraises a building to find if it is a beneficial place in which to live or work. I was sceptical at first but the more I learned about it, the more it resonated and tallied with my experience of why some homes felt so good to walk into. Years later I became a feng shui practitioner and teacher, and I loved the idea of using Chinese principles in Western homes. China itself remained of only limited interest to me.

sunrise at Wudangshan

This year, though, I’ve had the opportunity to visit the country not once but twice and I was surprised to find how much it re-energised my interest in feng shui. My trip was centred on three sacred mountains in different parts of the country…