guangzh
ou
Liwan ‘Corpse’ Plaza by Lena Gidwani and Jocelyn Richards
T
he character ‘guang’ (广) on
mall in the shape of an octagon, to
Guangzhou’s Liwan Plaza
resemble the Taoist symbol called the
resembles the one for corpse (尸)
Bagua.
– and many believe this is no
coincidence. Since 2004, about a dozen suicides
Eventually, a Taoist priest informed the building’s landlords that the empty coffins had originally been buried there
have occurred on the premises, and
to thwart evil, and that they should have
some locals claim that supernatural
lain undisturbed for a thousand years.
forces are pushing victims over the railings. They say the deadly curse began
Since the mall’s opening, several ‘accidents’ have been reported – many on the fifth floor. It is alleged that at
years ago, when the mall was first
least two of the building’s landlords
constructed on a sacrificial chamber
have died suddenly of unknown causes.
from the Qing dynasty. As the legend goes, inspectors
Many claim that it’s always suspiciously cold in Liwan Plaza. Just
failed to notice eight empty coffins
walking through the building at night
when erecting Liwan Plaza, now a
can give some locals chills.
large jewelry market. Some say strange
Skeptics argue that the high suicide
noises emanated from the coffins,
rate could be due to Liwan Plaza’s
unearthed during construction. To
infamous reputation – now a self-
counteract the evil, architects built the
fulfilling prophesy.
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