Want to beat the hell out of bad luck? Head to this corner of Hong Kong

In Causeway Bay, Hong Kong, an unofficial street ritual draws curious visitors to a corner under the Canal Road Flyover. Known as “villain hitting” (da siu yan) in Cantonese, it’s performed by local women—often described as aunties—who sit behind makeshift shrines of incense, candles and colorful offerings. Holding an old shoe in one hand, they chant while striking tables stacked with slips of paper. Participants write intentions on paper, then the practitioner repeatedly smashes it until it shreds, before burning the fragments in a fire bowl behind the stall. The writer traveled courtesy of Cathay Pacific and the Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui hotel.