A small traffic mirror in a Shanghai neighborhood has caused more trouble than anyone expected. For months, drivers reported minor accidents at a sharp turn. The reason behind the accidents was unusual: a local woman kept moving the mirror to protect her home’s feng shui.
Moving mirror causes problems
The mirror had been there for years to help drivers see the sharp turn. Recently, it started being moved again and again. According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the property management tried many times to fix it, but it kept being changed. Authorities later found out that the woman living across the mirror thought its position was causing bad luck for her family.
Feng Shui at the center
Feng shui is an old Chinese practice about arranging homes and objects for luck and harmony. Mirrors are important in feng shui, and their placement can be seen as lucky or unlucky. The woman’s husband, Luo, told Shanghai TV, “We are no demons. We are not happy having a demon-revealing mirror pointing at us.” He also said his family had suffered “bad luck and health” and had called a feng shui master, who said the mirror was the problem.
Neighbors worried
As reported by the South China Morning Post, other residents said the moving mirror made the turn dangerous.
One neighbor said drivers had to “pay extra attention when making the turn.” The property management tried to solve the issue by putting another mirror on the other side of the road. The woman first agreed, but after her family experienced more bad luck, she moved both mirrors again.
Police get involved
According to the South China Morning Post, the police and neighborhood committee came on January 21. They told the family that moving traffic mirrors could be a crime and warned that they could be held responsible if an accident happened. One online observer said, “They protected their own feng shui but compromised the safety of other people. I suppose what they did would not bring them harmony eventually.” Another said, “It is foolish to blame everything on a mirror.”
Thumb image: Canva (for representative purposes only)