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You have heard us talking about it since… well, forever, and it is finally here! Yeap, the First Annual World Classical Feng Shui Conference kicked off with a big bang on March 8th in the city of Cologne, Germany.

Cologne is a beautiful city in itself. Of course this has something to do with the immediate sense of history you get when you step into the city. Its roots go as far back as the Roman Empire, where Emperor Claudius in A.D. 50 named the city 'Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensis' for his wife, Agrippina. This amazing city is a directory of arts and culture, with plenty of museums, art centers, friendly people, and of course, the incredible cathedral.

If you don't already know about the Conference, here's a brief look at this event :

Five top Feng Shui Masters and eleven featured speakers, each an expert in their own area, together for the first time in the First Annual World Classical Feng Shui Conference in Cologne. This exciting event is organized by the Yap Cheng Hai Feng Shui Center of Excellence and The International Forum Feng Shui (Germany) in an effort to bring true, authentic Feng Shui to the world.

Keynote speakers are Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai, Master Joseph Yu, Master Eva Wong, Master Larry Sang and Master Raymond Lo. Featured speakers are Cate Bramble, Stephen Skinner, Dr. Manfred Kubny, Lothar Baier, Joey Yap, Lorraine Wilcox, Siou Foon Lee, Derek Walters, Elizabeth Moran and Val Biktashev. You can find out more about the background of the speakers at the official Conference site at www.classicalfengshui.net.

Unlike other conferences, the World Classical Feng Shui Conference is structured in a way that the participants get to listen to every single speaker. Thus they do not need to choose between one speaker and the other.

Thursday, 7th March

The evening before the Conference, the organizers hosted a dinner for all 16 speakers. The 5 Masters - Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai, Master Eva Wong, Master Larry Sang, Master Raymond Lo and Master Joseph Yu sat at a table with Joey Yap and Lothar Baier, organizers of the event.

Naturally, the topic of the night was classical Feng Shui. Having been friends for a long time, the Masters were really pleased to see each other again, even more so in this opportunity to discuss the theories of classical Feng Shui.

Friday 8th March

The Conference was a success even before it started! Amazed? How can this be, you ask. Up to the last moment before the Conference began, there were still many last minute registrations for this hit event. This got to a point where the organizers had to hold back many last minute registrations, much to the disappointment of the crowd lining outside the venue. No, I am not kidding you - people from over 37 nations came to Cologne to attend this monumental event! The organizer handled this unexpected incident smoothly, and left no room for confusion. By the time the Conference began, the very large auditorium was packed to its full capacity. As this is the FIRST time the World Classical Feng Shui Conference is being held, I am positive that the turnout for the next and subsequent Conferences will be just as successful. Look out for details on Feng Shui Times then!

The Conference started with a short speech by Joey Yap, an Advisor of the Conference and Sabine Kriete-Neumann, the Chairperson. Despite the obvious hard work the organizers had put in for this event (and many late and sleepless night, I was told), the organizing teams were in a jovial mood as they were introduced to the audience. The opening speech also introduced the MCs of the event, Janie Angus and Anja Orttmann and the 5 Masters and 16 speakers who were present.

The first speech was delivered by Grand Master Yap Cheng Hai. His topic was 'Classical Schools of Authentic Feng Shui'. In his speech, he shared his knowledge of the history of Feng Shui, with references to names and years of famous Feng Shui masters, dated back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC - AD 220). This includes important Feng Shui classics the ancient masters wrote, and their contributions to the development of classical Feng Shui. The audience was advised to study Feng Shui with an open mind and heart. Grand Master Yap told them to practice and test theories before judging them, and not to believe everything until they have tried them out for themselves. Feng Shui, Grand Master Yap says, is a lifetime study and one needs to seek a good teacher. He commended this Conference as the perfect opportunity to soak up knowledge from the best in the field. A good speaker deserves a good applause - the auditorium was ringing with thunderous applause from the audience after Grand Master Yap's speech.

At 4.15 p.m., Lothar Baier delivered his speech on 'Feng Shui and Quantum Physics'. His 1-hour talk was very well researched with many references to modern scientific principles.

The next featured speaker, Derek Walters talked about the 'Twelve Animals of the Chinese Zodiac'. It was an interesting talk as Walters was a very dynamic and jovial speaker. The audience loved the way he introduced the 12 animals, and his own special way of making his talk very easy to understand.

At 7.30 p.m., the Official Opening Ceremony of the World Classical Feng Shui Conference began. A lion dance kicked off the event, as it is in the Chinese belief that this will bring good luck and fortune. After that, there was a performance by an orchestra band.

All the speakers then gathered together for a photograph session. The 5 Masters were presented with a White Sash. These sashes were to be signed and auctioned to the UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) for charity.

At 9 p.m. , everyone adjourned to a 'Get Together with the Masters' evening. It was a warming moment to see the Masters and practitioners discuss about Feng Shui and their experiences together. This kind of sessions will encourage the participants to pursue their Feng Shui studies wholeheartedly, knowing that there are people who worked hard and made it successfully.

That's all for the incredible first day of the First Annual World Classical Feng Shui Conference.

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4