Our city is home to a large community of Asians (Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese and more), and now they will have the comfort of being able to rest in a feng shui-styled cemetery if one so chooses. I have been practicing feng shui for some years to compliment tai chi exercises, and it truly does bring peace and harmony to my mental and physical state.

I’m glad to hear that in the corner of Forest Park Westheimer cemetery, there is now Houston’s first feng shui styled resting place. Asians and followers of eastern philosophy will enjoy seeing the symbolic statues and pagoda entrances which adorn the spiritual grounds.

SCI is the company which addressed the needs of the local Asian population, and I thank them. This is not the first time they have built a feng shui cemetery, as there are ones in other U.S. areas they have constructed as well. SCI does not limit their services to one ethnicity however; they are planning the creation of a cemetery that will cater to the religious and spiritual needs of some Hispanics as they pass into their eternal resting places.

Feng shui, the Chinese art of placement, was originally formulated for designing cemeteries to honor the deceased, according to Terry Abraham, co-author of the book Chinese American Death Rituals: Respecting the Ancestors.

“Because feng shui has been revived, it’s not unlikely that people would use it as selling point, especially if they are appealing to the Asian community,” Abraham said.

Abraham said some immigrants from Asia choose to move bones and ashes of their ancestors to the United States and often prefer traditional graves to cremation, which has been enforced in some Asian countries to save space.

“They have such a rich tradition and heritage, and now that they live in the United States, they want to bring their loved ones here,” Loney of the Forest Park cemetery said.

With cemetery plots facing all of the eight compass points in a circle, clients can choose how to position the deceased. Feng shui followers believe that personal astrology determines the best direction for the head when laid to rest, which is said to bring good luck to families for generations.

This is what Peter Chiang, a retiree from Taiwan, had in mind when he purchased a $110,000 plot close to one of the pagodas.

“I have never seen anything like that in Houston and even in Taiwan,” Chiang, who moved to Houston 15 years ago, said of the garden.

“There is a pond in the garden and a dragon on the pagoda; those are all good luck, not only for me but for generations to come.” - Anastasia Ustinova