BaZi City Test: Which Cities Suit You Best?

What it compares

The test starts from your BaZi chart. It works out which direction each of 16 international cities lies in from your birthplace, assigns that direction one of the Five Elements, and compares it with the elements your chart favors. It answers “which directions line up with your favorable elements”, not “which city is best”.

How it is calculated

First, your birth date, time and place are used to build your BaZi chart and identify its Useful Element, Favorable Element and Unfavorable Element. Next, the direction from your birthplace to each city is calculated and grouped into one of eight directions. Each direction then takes the element assigned to it in the Later Heaven bagua: north is Water, northeast and southwest are Earth, east and southeast are Wood, south is Fire, and west and northwest are Metal.

Cities in the direction of your Useful Element come first, followed by your Favorable Element, then directions with no particular role, and finally your Unfavorable Element. Within each group, cities follow a fixed catalog order. Directions follow the shortest route across the globe, so they can differ from what a flat map suggests: seen from Shanghai, for example, New York lies to the north rather than the east.

Reading your result

The map highlights the top nine cities and the list shows the first six. The higher a city appears, the more closely its direction matches your favorable elements. Treat it as a shortlist to explore through travel, a short stay or a work trip, and weigh it alongside job prospects, cost of living, language, visas and family plans.

What the test does not do

• It compares only the 16 international cities in its catalog. Cities in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are not included yet.
• It looks at direction, not distance: a nearby city and a faraway city in the same direction share the same element.
• It measures from your birthplace, not where you live now. Some traditional approaches use your current home instead, which can give different results.
• If you don't know your birth time, the hour pillar is estimated at noon (the Wu hour), so the favorable elements may be less reliable.
• Direction elements are traditional symbols, not a measure of a city's climate, economy or opportunities. Results are for entertainment and self-reflection only, and are not advice on relocation, careers or investments.